How Could This Happen
by tanith2
Summary: Edited version - Ardeth has to help a friend get into Germany in WW11


Disclaimers – I own no-one and any resemblance of anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.  
  
Rating – PG13  
  
Summery - Major trouble for Ardeth while helping a friend of Evy's.  
  
How Could This Happen?  
  
By Tanith  
  
Chapter One  
  
Peaceful Years  
  
Cairo, Egypt, the spring of 1942, and life are going quite well for the O'Connells. They stayed in Egypt after Ahm Shere and Evy took over the running of the British Museum there. Things in Egypt were quite peaceful, no mummies or scorpions to deal with but they had been and collected treasure from other tombs at the request of the Egyptian Government.  
  
The only cloud on the horizon was the fact that a world war was raging in Europe and they knew it would probably effect them even in Egypt. Hitler had vowed to take over Europe and was doing a pretty good job at the moment. His plans, they heard were to invade England in the autumn.  
  
About a year after Ahm Shere, 1934 Evy received a letter from an old friend of her fathers from many years ago, Karl Rosen. She hadn't seen him since she was a child but remembered him very well. He had been living in the United States but was coming to see her on his way back to Germany.  
  
He had been born there and then gone to work abroad after he qualified as a professor of Egyptology and worked in Philadelphia. He had written to Evy asking if he could stay there for a while and she had said yes. By the end of March he would  
  
be there.  
  
"So what is he coming here for?" asked Rick "you have never mentioned him before"  
  
"Never needed to, he was a friend of the family from years ago. He was about 25 when I was a child, that would make him about 55 now. I always remember getting little gifts off him for Christmas and birthdays, then after father died, they stopped. Often wondered what had happened to him, only had a few letters over the years"  
  
"Okay, we'll meet him at the station, what date is it?"  
  
"The 24th March, day after tomorrow"  
  
They met him and Evy was surprised by the change in him. He was quite short, always remembered him being taller, with short dark hair, beady little eyes and glasses. Over the days that followed, they talked about old times and he told her about his life.  
  
He had become a well known man in the States in his field and Evy knew this. She had a proposition for him and hoped he would accept.  
  
"Karl, would you be interested in a job here at the museum?"  
  
"What sort of job Evy?"  
  
"In charge of the museum, there is too much work for me now and I want to do other things, sort out the relics and do some repair work, but I need your help"  
  
"I would love too work here, thank you. I don't need to go home yet, when do I start?"  
  
"When ever you like"  
  
That was over nearly seven years ago and he was still there. But she knew that she would lose him soon, the war getting ready to start in Europe, especially Germany and he would want to go home.  
  
She and Rick had found a few tombs and there was quite a bit of work to do but she would have to let him go if things got too bad. Rick had already tried to join up but because of an injury he had received during a dig, they wouldn't take him.  
  
He had been digging these jewels out of a wall in this tomb, when the whole lot came down, right on top of him and two other men. Both of them were killed and he received a broken leg in four places and broken arm, but he had been lucky. How ever the leg had not healed straight and he was left with a limp that stopped him from going back into the army or the legion. He was angry at first but then realized that there would probably be other things he could do, didn't know what as yet but he would think of something.  
  
Alex was growing up, he was nearly 16 now and although at college, helped out in the museum when he could. Also their friendship with Ardeth Bay was better than ever and he used to go and stay with him at his camp whenever there were school holidays. Ardeth had been teaching him how to ride and sword fight and he was getting very good at it. The Med-jai commander had become Alex's god-father when he was a baby and having no children of his own, he loved the idea of having him at the camp. He had missed him in the four years that he had lived in London with his parents and although it was Ahm Shere that brought them back to Egypt, he was glad they decided to stay.  
  
One day, they had been fighting with swords most of the day and were quite tired so, sitting by the camp fire that evening they talked instead of going for the normal walk that they had been accustomed to.  
  
"Ardeth, can I ask you something?" asked Alex.  
  
"Of course, what do you want to know?"  
  
"I know most of the story about Imhotep and what happened but I never knew why the Med-jai were still involved in all that"  
  
"Well, the Med-jai were Seti's bodyguards as you know and we were responsible for the destruction and death of Imhotep. But we made a vow that because of the things that Imhotep did, we would guard his final resting place so that no-one would ever find it. But mainly it was to guard the treasurt of Seti. There was more gold in there and still is, than was found in Tutankamuns tomb in the 1920's, about ten times as much."  
  
"How do you know it is still there?"  
  
"Me, your father and Jonathan saw it when we went to rescue your mother at Hamunaptra all those years ago. Wonderful things, collected by Seti and then taken with him when he died for the afterlife. Over the years, generation after generation of Med-jai carried on with the work"  
  
"How did you become their commnader?"  
  
"When the pharaoh was murdered by Imhotep and his mistress, the leader was called Bay and a decision was made that every leader in the future would be called Bay and be descendant from this one person. So he was my ancestor and when I have children, the male child will become leader after me as I did after my father"  
  
They moved to the tent that Alex shared with Ardeth and making themselves comfortable on their beds, the conversation carried on. Alex listened intently as Ardeth told him of his life as a Med-jai, he had always been interested but had never asked him about it before.  
  
"When did you become leader Ardeth?"  
  
"I became their leader about twenty years ago now, I am 37, yes about that. My father was leader then and he was out on a raid with the rest of tribe when they were ambushed. Many men were killed including my father, I became their leader on their return to camp"  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry" said Alex "Shall we talk in the morning, I am tired"  
  
"Of course Alex, we will ride for a while and then talk while we eat lunch, how's that"  
  
Alex didn't answer, he was already asleep. Ardeth watched him for a while and remembered when he was that age, doing the same things as he was teaching him only with his father. Maybe one day he would have a boy to teach all these things to.  
  
Back at the museum, Karl had received a letter and on reading it had disappeared into the grounds of the museum. Evy saw him go and followed.  
  
"Karl, Karl are you alright, not bad news I hope"  
  
"A letter from my sister in Germany. It has taken nearly four months to get here. She speaks of terrible things happened over there. I think I will have to go back soon"  
  
"Oh no, Karl, you can't, I need you here, what does she say or is it none of my business?"  
  
"I will tell you but I think Rick needs to hear this as well"  
  
They went back to the hotel and met Rick up in their room, where it was private. Karl didn't want anyone to hear what he was going to tell them.  
  
"What is this all about Karl?" asked Rick "You both sounded mysterious on the phone"  
  
"I want you to hear what my sister has written me about. I can't believe what she tells me but I know it must be true because of the rumors also. This man, Hitler, who wants to take over Europe is even more evil that we thought he was. He wants to destroy all the Jews of Europe, wipe them off the face of the earth"  
  
"That is impossible" replied Rick "No man could achieve that and why the Jews, why does he hate them so much"  
  
"I believe it is because of Christ all those years ago and because a lot of Jews have money and power. He wants that power. Anyway my sister says, that in April, he ordered that all Jews were to be arrested and their property seized in a lot of small villages and towns. Storm troopers, the SS and the Hitler Youth, beat and murdered many Jews, raped the women, burnt homes and synagogues. No-one lifted a finger to help them. My sister managed to escape but her husband and children were murdered. She watched from a cupboard in their house where she was hiding"  
  
"Oh my God" said Evy sitting next to him and putting an arm round his shoulder.  
  
"Jesus, I thought all this would blow over and he would be forced out of office" replied Rick "It looks like he has more power than we thought if he can do this"  
  
"Many thousands of Jews have been killed or sent to concentration camps"  
  
"So where is your sister now, is she safe?" asked Evy.  
  
"I have no idea, nor do I know about my father and mother, they live in Leipzig. In their 80's now. I have to try and get to them, do something to help them, you understand now Evy, why I must leave"  
  
"I understand but it will be dangerous, you could get arrested too"  
  
"I have to take the chance, I must get to my parents and find my sister before it gets any worse over there"  
  
Karl left them and went for a walk to think and decide what he was going to do when he got to Germany. Rick paced the floor and then saw that Evy was crying, he went over and hugged her.  
  
"Look he has to go, it is important to him, just like when I came after you. I would go with him but this work that the government have given me won't allow me to. I could be in trouble if I stopped now, it was this or going back to London"  
  
"I know Rick, I saw the letter you got, but someone has to go with him, I won't let him go alone, he was my fathers friend and I know what father would have done"  
  
"Okay, I will try and sort something out, find someone to go with him back to Germany"  
  
He had an idea but didn't know if the person would agree or if it was such a good idea to start with.  
  
Alex had ridden out with Ardeth and they were sitting down, having lunch that Masala had prepared for them. He loved going out into the desert with Ardeth, he knew this was what he wanted to do when he left school. But it would take some persuading on his part for his father to agree.  
  
"Why haven't you got any children?"  
  
"Because I am not married Alex. I have never found any one that I wanted to be with or was in love with" replied the Arab eating the rice and bread.  
  
"What you have never had a girlfriend?"  
  
"You are nosey?" he laughed.  
  
"Sorry Ardeth"  
  
"No I'll tell you. I had a girl once, a long time ago now. We were in love but her father didn't want her to marry a man who lived in the desert like we do. He wanted her to live in the city and I would have hated that, no matter how much I loved her. So we broke up. I have never met anyone else like her although I have had girlfriends who meant nothing to me"  
  
They finished their meal and rode back to camp later that afternoon. When they got there, Ardeth found they had a visitor, Rick was waiting for them. Ardeth greeted him and he got a hug off his son, then they went to the tent.  
  
"Alex I need to talk to Ardeth alone, do you mind?"  
  
"No, I have to rub down the horses anyway, see you in a minute"  
  
"He seems to be having a good time, not being any trouble is he?" he asked.  
  
"No, he is a pleasure to have here. Now what can I do for you my friend?"  
  
Rick told him about Karl and about the letter. Ardeth sat listening intently at what the man told him and was shocked at what was going on in Germany.  
  
"How can I help?"  
  
"Would you be willing to go with Karl back to Germany. Help him get there safely and help him find his family. I can't go, this job won't allow me to leave Egypt at the moment and Evy doesn't want him to go alone"  
  
"I am not exactly going to go unnoticed Rick, these clothes and tattoos. It could be even more dangerous for him if I was there."  
  
"I know what you are saying but with European clothes no-one would take that much notice of you, I am sure we could cover the tattoos if necessary"  
  
"Look Alex returns to you in two days, I will think about it. If I decide to go, I will come with him, if not please respect my decision Rick. It would only be if I thought it was too dangerous for karl for me to be with him"  
  
"No problem Ardeth, I will understand totally if you say no. All I ask is that you think about it"  
  
Rick said he had to get back, they were only about five miles from Cairo but he had to be at the government office that afternoon. Ardeth gave him some food and drink before he left and then watched him ride off, back to Cairo. He went back into his tent and laying on the bed, thought about what had been asked of him. He jumped when Alex came in looking for him.  
  
"Are you alright Ardeth, what did dad want?" he asked  
  
"He wants me to go with Karl to Germany, he needs to find his family and your dad doesn't want him to go on his own"  
  
Ardeth you can't go to Germany, it is too dangerous there, I've heard stories"  
  
"Like what Alex?"  
  
"Well, there is a boy at school, his father has friends in Germany and they got a letter to say that these people had been arrested by the Gestapo and haven't been seen since. You might not come back"  
  
Ardeth got up and looked out of the tent at what the rest of the Med-jai were doing, he went and poured a coffee and then sat down next to Alex.  
  
"I have heard things too, of people disappearing, I might live out here but I do have contacts in other places. I will sleep on it and decide before you go back"  
  
"Where have you been Rick, I wanted you here not gallivanting around the desert" said Evy when he returned.  
  
He went into the office and threw his jacket on the chair, then poured himself a whiskey before facing his wife.  
  
"I have been to see Ardeth. I can't go with Karl but I thought maybe he could or would be willing too"  
  
"Oh Rick, I'm sorry. What did he say?"  
  
"He is going to think about it and if he decides to go, he will be here with Alex tomorrow. If not we will have to think of something else"  
  
Evy went to see Karl and tell him what Rick had done. He was not very pleased about it and Evy asked him why not. He couldn't go alone, it wasn't safe.  
  
"Evy, if Ardeth goes with me, he would be in more danger than I would. Even if he wore our type of clothes, the tattoos on his face would make him a target for the Gestapo. I won't be responsible for his safety"  
  
"I never thought of that. Oh God Karl, what do we do, I can't let you go alone" she said.  
  
She liked Karl, he was a lovely man and a great Egyptologist, he knew things that even she didn't know. At the very least, he would be missed at the museum. As a last resort, she would have to go with him, she would work something out.  
  
The next day, Alex arrived back at their house and he had Ardeth with him. They dismounted and went inside. Rick welcomed Ardeth and gave his son a hug.  
  
"You decided then Ardeth?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, I will go with him. I will have to wear European clothes, I can't go in these robes, I would be noticed don't you think"  
  
"Ardeth, how wonderful to see you" said Evy running in when she saw Alex in the hall.  
  
"Hello Evy, how are you?" he asked giving her a kiss.  
  
"I am fine but you needn't have come, there is no way you can go with Karl"  
  
"Evy, what are you on about, he has said he would" replied Rick.  
  
"Karl pointed something out to me yesterday, even if you wore proper clothes, you have forgotten your tattoos, they will give you away. You can't go, I won't let you. I have decided to with him instead"  
  
Rick jumped up and grabbed her by the arms.  
  
"No, you can't I need you here, what makes you think it will be any safer for a woman?"  
  
"You can both stay here, I am going with Karl" said Ardeth "I am sure I can cover them up with something, makeup whatever. I will be alright. Now I need to see Karl to finalize the details. There is an end to it"  
  
With that he walked out of the room and over to the museum to see Karl. They had to find out exactly where they were going and how they were getting there. It would be a long way, through several countries and would take quite a time. They had to be certain of everything, food, money, transport and avoid all the places that might be a danger to them, also Ardeth had to get some clothes suitable for the journey.  
  
Luckily he could speak German, his father had taught him when he was a child, his father had been to several countries over the years and Germany was one of them. He was quite fluent in fact, something that he had never told the O'Connells, mind you the subject had never some up before.  
  
He knocked on the door and Karl asked him to come in, they would be there for some time and when Ardeth did emerge, he was tired but everything was now ready for them to leave by the end of the week. He headed back to Ricks house, to eat and sleep they could discuss all the plans the next day.  
  
  
  
Chapter Two  
  
Journey to Romania  
  
A week later Ardeth and Karl were ready to leave. Karl had acquired a 1935 Ford and would certainly get them into Germany okay. Evy still wasn't happy about Ardeth going but he had promised that he would, he was pretty sure that they would be okay and as soon as they found Karls family, they could return to Egypt.  
  
"What about speaking the language Ardeth, obviously Karl can speak German and that but how are you going to get on. You can't keep quiet all the way there and back"  
  
Ardeth spoke to her in fluent German and she stood there with her mouth open. Rick looked at him and laughed.  
  
"You never cease to amaze me my friend, when did you learn to speak German?" he asked.  
  
"My father taught me when I was a child and I spent 3 years in Germany with my parents when I was about 5 years old. Although he was leader of the Med- jai, he liked to travel and took me with him. I will tell you about him one day"  
  
Evy came over and putting her arms round him, hugged him and kissed him before saying goodbye.  
  
"I'll hold you to that Ardeth. You take care, do you hear me. We care about you too much for anything to happen to you"  
  
"I also care Evy, Rick. We will be back before you know it. Ready Karl?"  
  
He was and got into the car ready to drive off when Alex ran out of the museum and called Ardeths name. He got out of the car, pleased that Alex had decided to come and say goodbye. He had been angry that Ardeth was going but Karl had explained to him why he had to go and why the Med-jai leader was coming with him.  
  
"Ardeth, I am sorry I was angry with you, please take this as a going away present" he said.  
  
He handed him a pocket knife that folded up and was encrusted with jewels. It was one of the things that they had taken from Hamunaptra many, many years ago. He wasn't going to accept it but when he looked at Evy, she nodded her head. Putting it in his pocket, he hugged Alex and got back into the car and they drove off, waving as they went.  
  
"Do you think they will be alright?" asked Alex.  
  
"I hope so" replied Evy "I really do hope so"  
  
They were going to travel to Alexandria on the northern tip of Egypt and then go by ship to Mangalia, in Romania. It would cut a lot off the journey. Arriving at the port, Karl saw the car onto the ship while Ardeth picked up a few supplies that they could use while on the ship other than what they already had.  
  
He met up with Karl on board in their cabin. They were sharing with a monk of all people, from a monastery in Romania. He was going home and had also taken the ship for quickness. They went up on deck as the ship left port and watched the coast of Egypt get smaller and smaller as they headed out into the Aegean Sea. It was a cargo ship and the journey would take them about ten days give or take the weather and refueling.  
  
"Hello, my name is Father Shandor" he said.  
  
"Good evening, I am Karl Rosen and this is my friend Ardeth Bay"  
  
They shook hands and settled down in the cabin with some supper. The cabin was very sparse beings it was on a cargo ship, but it would do them very well. When they had finished, Karl got a bottle of whiskey out of his bag and offered them some. Ardeth declined but the Father joined him, saying he always used it for medicinal purposes when on a journey.  
  
"You are going to Romania for any particular reason?" he asked.  
  
"We are traveling to Germany, Leipzig in fact, where my parents live" replied Karl.  
  
The monks face changed and he became very serious. He poured himself another drink and made himself comfortable on his bed.  
  
"You have heard what is going on in Germany and all the other countries that Hitler has occupied"  
  
"We have heard rumors of course but what do we believe. How can a man do the things that they say he is doing"  
  
"Being from the monastery, so far we have been allowed to go where we wish, within reason. I had a fellow monk in Germany last year, what he told me on his return, well it took some believing I can tell you"  
  
"What sort of things?" asked Ardeth "We know what we have read but that is all"  
  
The Father shifted on the bed and getting up, walked to the door and looking outside, he shut and locked it behind him.  
  
"You can never be too careful nowadays. My friends, in Germany, a decree has been passed that anyone who is not Aryan are to be rounded up and killed. At the start, it was the old, mental and disabled people, anyone unable to work and this was to be called 'Special Treatment"  
  
"But there are many people who fall into those categories, it would impossible to get rid of all that number"  
  
"Oh he is doing it. You are Jewish are you not?"  
  
Karl nodded and wondered why the Father had asked. He was soon to find out.  
  
"The Jews have been put at the top of that list. Hitler wants to rid the whole of Europe of this race. They have been stopped from having radios, going to school, reading newspapers, running businesses, everything. Their shops have been destroyed or where possible taken over by a German who is not Jewish"  
  
"Don't the people stand up to these people?" asked Ardeth.  
  
"Oh yes, at the start some did, but they were killed for it. But the majority of Germany have been brainwashed into the ideals of Hitler. They couldn't do anything about it even if they wanted to. But most don't want to, they are glad to see the back of the Jews. Towns and villages have been raided by the SS and Special Police forces, men taken away and shot. The women and children put into trucks and taken away, none of them are ever seen again"  
  
Karl had tears in his eyes and Father Shandor apologized if he had upset him. Ardeth told him about Karls sister and what had happened to her husband. That was why they were going there, to try and find her and his parents. Karl unlocked the door and went up on deck to get some fresh air and to be on his own for a while. The father spoke to Ardeth and asked him what the tattoos meant and where he was from. Ardeth explained about the Med-jai and briefly what the tattoos meant.  
  
"Believe me Ardeth you will have to be very careful when we get to Romania. There are people every where that will want to do you harm and inform on you to the Gestapo. You have two things against you before you even start, one is that Karl is a Jew and you with those tattoos"  
  
"I know that, but we have to go, we will take our chances, if Allah is with us then we will survive"  
  
They had a few days of bad weather and arrived in Mangalia three days late. Not much had been said since that first night about Germany, they had talked about all sorts of other things and by the time they arrived in Romania, they were good friends.  
  
"Karl, Ardeth, I would be please if you would travel with me, at least for half the journey through my country. My monastery is located near the town of Hunedoara, about six hundred miles from here. You can stay there a few days and then continue on your way"  
  
"That would be most acceptable" replied Karl "We just have to wait for my car to be unloaded from the ship"  
  
"Then if we are going by car, we should be at the monastery within about two days. I was dreading having to ride a horse all that way. I can't drive you see, never had to"  
  
It was dark when they arrived at the monastery and Father Shandor showed them to their rooms. He would give them a tour of the place the next day. Food and drink were brought to them by one of the other monks and after eating they were soon asleep. All that traveling had worn them out and they had not really had much sleep in the car.  
  
The next day, they were shown round the whole place and they saw that part of it had been bombed at some point. Ardeth asked him what had happened.  
  
"There was an air-raid and we were unlucky. No-one was hurt but the place will need repairing as soon as we can" replied the Father "Please feel free to go and do as you please while you are here. I must leave you for a while, I have a lot of work to catch up on"  
  
They were right in the middle of the Carpathian mountains, and it was glorious, the air, the mountains covered in snow on the tops. Which the Father had told them would cut them off during the next month, round about the middle to end of October.  
  
"We must try and leave here before then" said Karl "Or we will be stranded here for the winter"  
  
"Yes, we still have to get through Hungary, Slovakia and Czechoslovakia before we even reach Germany" replied Ardeth.  
  
He sounded tired and not in a very good mood. Fact was, he had a headache, ever since they had left the boat. He told Karl he would see him later and went back to his room, maybe if he slept for a while, it would go.  
  
Karl had gone to see Father Shandor later that day and found him in the library, where he was writing in a large book. He was welcomed in and given some wine before they sat down beside the fire that raged in the enormous grate.  
  
"What can I do for you Karl?" he asked "And where is Ardeth?"  
  
"He is still asleep, he wasn't feeling too good earlier, I need to ask you something about the journey between here and Germany"  
  
"Just a minute" he said pulling a rope by the fire.  
  
The door opened and another monk came in and bowed to the Father.  
  
"Father John, Karl here says that Ardeth is not feeling too well, please go and see to his needs, make sure he has everything he wants and that he is feeling better"  
  
The man bowed and left. With that Father Shandor went over to the desk and pulled out a large map from the drawer. He beckoned Karl over.  
  
"This is the best map I have, but looking at it, your journey is going to be very difficult. If the Germans haven't occupied a place, they had soldiers or informers there, ready to report any strange people that are about. I have been reading some dispatches that were waiting for me when I returned yesterday. They do not make very good reading. Jews are being taken from nearly every town and village, either they are being shot on the spot or transported somewhere else. But anyone seen to be helping them is treated the same way. You are going to be in more danger than you think. You will not be able to go by car, it would be heard and spotted a mile away."  
  
"Then how do we get there, walk?" asked Karl pacing the floor.  
  
"That is exactly how you will have to get there. Through the countryside, keeping to the hills, rivers and mountains. Watch out for every little thing and trust no-one. You were born here and will be used to the weather and terrain but Ardeth isn't, he is going to find it hard and cold"  
  
"Especially if we have got to walk. It is going to take weeks, I have to get back and find my parents and my sister"  
  
"Well I have told you what I think, but it is up to you. The only thing I can do is advise you"  
  
"Thank you, I am grateful, but I can't afford to take weeks to get to Germany when in a car, we can be there in a week or so. We will stay till the end of the week and then leave"  
  
"Okay, but there is a man in a little town of Breclav, right on the Czech border, who is a member of the resistance. His name is Samual Weiss, he will be able to get you the rest of the way to Leipszig"  
  
"We will do that. Now I will see Ardeth and then get some rest, we have a long journey ahead of us soon"  
  
Father Shandor nodded as the man left and knew he was being very stubborn. If they insisted on driving to Germany, he would be very surprised if they even made it without being killed.  
  
Karl went to see Ardeth, who was better, his headache had gone and Karl told him what the Father had said.  
  
"I am feeling the cold now, but I'll be alright. Can always put on more clothes and we'll be in the car, at least part of the way. We'll work it out Karl, don't worry" replied Ardeth.  
  
Ardeth was beginning to have regrets about coming with Karl. There was no way he would ever get used to this cold and it was going to get worse apparently. If it hadn't been for the Nazis, they could have flown into Germany, as it was they were having to hide from informers that would think nothing of telling the SS where they were just to save their own lives.  
  
Sunday was quite a nice day after about three days of rain, so they said they would be on their way. They had a long way to go before they even reached Germany itself.  
  
"Thanks for everything Father Shandor and we hope to see you again"  
  
"I was glad to help. Let's hope when we do meet again it will be under different circumstances. Be careful and make sure you meet Samual Weiss at Breclav. He will help you to get into Germany safely"  
  
As they drove away, the Father had a cold shiver run down his spine, one of the other monks asked if anything was wrong.  
  
"I don't think we will ever see both of them alive again. I just hope I am wrong"  
  
Doing what the Father had told them, they kept to the tracks and the rivers. The drive through Hungary was quite easy, they saw very few people, traveled during the day and slept at night. But by the time they got halfway across Slovakia, the weather closed in. Snow started to fall and made it hard to see to drive.  
  
They found a place that was quite safe from any German patrols, quite close to the river Vah. They kept a small fire going in the daytime but thought it best to put it out at night, a fire could be seen for miles out there.  
  
The second day they were there, they heard a rumbling noise and climbing to the top of the hill, saw German tanks in the valley below.  
  
"We had better get out of here, if they spot us, we're done for" said Ardeth.  
  
"I think you're right, they may have foot patrols around here as well, that is a big convoy"  
  
Packing up their stuff, they knew they would have to walk, the car was snowed in and if they could hear the tanks, they would be able to hear a car. According to the map, they only had about sixty miles to go, to reach Breclav and the man who was going to help them.  
  
Managing to get to a place called Senica, they had to hide in some bushes as about six Germans walked along with rifles. Crawling through the undergrowth, they thought they were safe but a shot rang out and bounced off the tree quite near them. they had been seen.  
  
"Karl RUN" shouted Ardeth as he fired back.  
  
Karl didn't even know he had his gun with him, but he should have known better than to expect a Med-aji to go anywhere with a gun or sword. They ran towards the trees that seemed to be quite thick and hoped they would be safe in there.  
  
Ardeth had managed to kill the soldier that fired at them but the others were starting to run towards the sound of the shots. They had to be quick, luckily the other soldiers were apart from the dead one and had to come up the hill.  
  
As they ran, another shot rang out and Ardeth fell, a bullet in his leg. Karl ran back and helped him limp to the trees. Suddenly a rally of machine gun fire rang out and the German soldiers fell one by one. Ardeth and Karl stayed on the ground until a voice spoke to them.  
  
"You must be Ardeth and Karl, I am Samual Weiss. You're safe now, they are dead but we had better get out of here. There will be others soon, looking for them. come on"  
  
"Ardeths been shot" said Karl.  
  
"I'm okay" replied Ardeth as Karl wound a piece of cloth round his leg.  
  
Samual helped Ardeth to his feet and between them they started to walk through the woods. The man had told them that he was also patrolling the area keeping an eye out for them. They were about fifteen miles from Breclav, but they would sort Ardeth out first and then resume their journey.  
  
"It is about 400 miles to Leipzip from here but we will make it, if you do what I say. Things are getting bad round here now and we can't go via the towns and villages. I have safe houses on route, the next one is near a place called Blansko, we must get there by tonight. It is 8am that gives us about 8 hours of daylight"  
  
Laying Ardeth on the ground by a large tree, Samual got out some bandages, made as good a job as he could till they got to the old house near Blansko. The bullet was still there but he could do nothing out there in the woods, he had neither the light nor the equipment. Hopefully the man would make it that far, he thought.  
  
They got a fair way before Ardeth passed out and they had to make a stretcher of branches and coats tied together and carried him the rest of the way. It made it harder and it was dark by the time they reached the house. It was set in some more woods but completely hidden, no-one ever went in the woods at this time of year, Karl was informed.  
  
Getting Ardeth onto the table, Samual got a knife and heating it red hot, he took out the bullet, luckily Ardeth stayed unconscious. He washed the wound with some brandy he had and bandaged it well. They then put him in the bed in the corner.  
  
"Will he be okay?" asked Karl.  
  
"He should be, I have done this a few times but he must rest for a few days. We are safe here, it is snowing again, that will keep the patrols away. Even the Germans don't like the snow up here and won't go out in it unless ordered to. Go and get some rest, I will keep watch for a while and keep an eye on him. I'll wake you if I need you"  
  
"Thank you for helping us"  
  
Karl went and laid on the other bed, while Samual sat by the window with his rifle, just in case anyone did approach the place. The shutters were closed and he had a small hole that he peered through. No-one from the outside could see the fire burning in the fireplace. They would be safe there, he was certain.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Terrible Stories  
  
Within two days, Ardeth was up and about, which surprised both Samual and Karl. The injury hadn't been that bad but he still shouldn't have recovered that quickly by any means.  
  
"I heal quickly as did my father, maybe it's hereditary I don't know. It still hurts but all in all it's fine"  
  
"Well we still can't leave just yet, the snow is too bad at the moment. We should be safe here for a while. If the snow hasn't stopped in another two days though, we will have to leave and move on to the next house that I have"  
  
"How come you have all these places?" asked Karl.  
  
"I am part of a growing network of underground resistance. There are about thirty in our group at the moment. We have helped people out of Germany since the war started but also helped people get in"  
  
"But surely it isn't that bad" said Karl "We've heard a few things, seen a few troops but nothing to warrant all the secrecy. We did keep away from the towns but that was more common sense"  
  
Samuel poured some coffee from the pot on the fire. Then he sat down, silent as he drank it. Ardeth was also quiet, he had been for most of the journey. He didn't know why but he did miss Egypt. He wasn't like his father had been, he would rather stay in one place than travel all over the place. A voice shook him from his thoughts.  
  
"Ardeth…are you alright?" asked Karl putting his hand on his arm.  
  
"Sorry..yes I was just thinking about home"  
  
"You regret coming with me don't you?"  
  
"In a way, I had no idea we would have this much trouble getting into Germany. I thought we would be there and back in a couple of weeks"  
  
"You think this is bad" replied Samual "Wait till you get there, getting out is worse and you two are prime targets for the SS. Karl for being a Jew and you Ardeth, with those tattoos"  
  
"Come on Samuel, please tell us what you have heard. We need to know what to expect when we get in Germany" said Ardeth resting his leg on the bed.  
  
Samuel finished his coffee and then went to the window to keep watch. The other two waited for him to speak.  
  
"You understand this is only what I have been told from people who have been there and only witnessed it myself in one place"  
  
"This thing with the Jews started as early as 1933, when Hitler came to power, he introduced a law called 'The Ayran Law' this was against the Jews. They burned 70,000 tons of books in the spring of that year. By 1935, marriages between Jews and Germans were forbidden, even if they got married abroad it was illegal. Jews were banned from working for Germans, they couldn't fly the German flag, weren't a citizen of the Third Reich. They were forced out of homes, towns, businesses that had been theirs for generations. In November of 1938, we had the 'Night of the Broken Glass' or Krystalnacht. About 30,000 Jewish men were sent to concentration camps, synagogues, shops, homes were damaged or destroyed. They weren't allowed to have radios, pets, phones, buy food, go to school, and to top it all, from September 1941, they had to wear a yellow star as a mark of shame and so that everyone knew who they were"  
  
"I did hear about November 1938 but I thought it was just a one off thing, why haven't they stood up for themselves?"  
  
"I don't know but it seemed that the Jews of Poland were getting it worse. Over 5000 were killed in the first two months of Poland being taken over. A man called Heydrich was responsible for the ghettos, there is a big one in Lodz, Warsaw and Vilna. These are bad, 150,000 people live in the Lodz one, 8 to a room, the Warsaw one, 10 to a room, 600,000 Jews can be there at one time. A man got out of there after spending a month in the place, we managed to get him into Switzerland. He told us that the food they were given was minute. A weeks ration was about 14oz bread, 5oz meat, 2oz sugar, that is it. Most people were starving and with the cold of the winters, even more died. They had no clothes, no shoes. Disease killed a lot of people as well, typhus the main one. He described the people there as skin, eyes and voices but no human being remained"  
  
"Oh my God" replied Ardeth "We have a group of men in the south of Egypt that we thought were cruel and murderous but they are angels compared to these people. What do they expect to achieve by all this cruelty and murder?"  
  
"It is called 'The Final Solution' the Nazis want to wipe every Jew from the face of the earth by any means they can"  
  
Karl had heard enough for now, he got up and walked into the other small room that adjoined the main room. Ardeth was going to follow him but Samuel stopped him.  
  
"I'd leave him, this is all hard for him to hear and take in. he has lived far away from Germany for many years, even before Hitler took over, he has no idea what it is like there. What he should do, is go back to Egypt. If the truth be known, he will never find his family, they are probably in camps already, if not dead. I don't say that lightly, it is a fact. I have, had, three brothers and two sisters, a mother and father but I am the only one left"  
  
"What happened to them Samuel?" asked Ardeth handing him another coffee.  
  
"They were taken by the Germans in 1941,first to a place called Theresienstadt and then to a camp called Treblinka. Once in Treblinka, you never come out, I was told by a man who escaped from the train there that no-one comes out of the showers alive"  
  
"I can't believe this, it is like a fantasy or horror story not reality"  
  
"Believe me it is real. Please go back to Egypt Ardeth, take Karl with you before it is too late. If you go into Germany, you may never come out"  
  
Ardeth sat beside him and watched through the window as he wondered is Samuel wasn't right and the best thing they could do was go home. But he knew Karl would not leave it there, if necessary he would go there on his own.  
  
In the end, the snow kept them there for about four days but then they moved on to the other house. They were old houses that had once been occupied but the owners long gone.  
  
Within ten days they had arrived, cold, wet and fed-up at a place called Toucha, which was just outside Leipzig. Once there, Samuel told them that he had to leave, he had other people to see.  
  
"Good luck Karl and please be careful. Now you remember the place near the Labe river, where we were two days ago, if you have any trouble, go there and someone will help you."  
  
"Thank you Samuel, we are grateful for all your help. I will find you after the war hopefully and not before. You know what I mean"  
  
"Yes, I do. Goodbye Ardeth and you look after yourself"  
  
"Samuel, if you are ever in Egypt, please you would always be welcome at my camp"  
  
The man nodded and disappeared down an alley and left the two men alone. They waited till it got dark before traveling into Liepzig to find Karls home. They were in for a shock when they saw that the houses in the road where Karl had been born, were just shells. All of them ruins, no-one had lived there for a long time by the looks of it. As he wandered round the empty shell, they heard a noise and hiding by the stairs, they waited to see who it was. They were sure it was going to be a German. Suddenly a woman appeared and she looked nervously round the hall.  
  
"Karl, is that you?" she said as loudly as she dared.  
  
"Anna, Anna Segal, my God" gasped Karl coming out of hiding "What are you still doing here, I thought the places were deserted"  
  
"Not quite, come with me, quickly, niceties cane wait, it is not safe here, patrols come down here all the time"  
  
The two men followed her out of the back of the house and across what was the gardens. She took them into the house next door and down into the cellar, then she closed and locked the cellar door and pulled a large black blanket across the door. Going down a further set of stairs, they came to a large room that was once used for storing wine. Anna lit the lamp on the table and then turned to Karl.  
  
"Karl Rosen, where have you been, we thought you were dead"  
  
"I have been living in Egypt, I came to find my parents and my sister and take them back there, by the way, this is a very good friend Ardeth"  
  
"Hello Ardeth, please help yourself to food and drink you must be starving. I still have a good supply here that the Germans haven't found yet. I can't light a fire because someone would see the smoke but there are blankets there if you are cold. Karl, your parents were taken away nearly eleven months ago. The SS came to our road and took away all the Jews in trucks, those that didn't obey them were shot"  
  
"Where, where did they go, I have to find them" he said.  
  
"You can't find them, they could be anywhere. Most of the people were taken to a place called Treblinka, I survived being taken because I was hidden in here by my father, he was shot on the street because he refused to get into the truck. I stayed here for three days before venturing out to see what was going on. The road was as you saw it, ruins, they had burnt a lot of the houses and blew up the rest. I am the only one left. I have lived down here and only gone outside at night. I heard you go in next door and knew it wasn't the Germans, it isn't the right time. They come round here at the same time every day, twice a day, I knew it had to be someone else"  
  
Ardeth had been listening to what she said while sitting at the table eating some fruit, the cellar was packed with food and wine, enough to last for weeks and had if she had been there eleven months. As he listened he felt his eyes close, he was so tired and eventually fell asleep with his head on the table.  
  
"I have to find them Ardeth" he said turning round and then saw his friend.  
  
Anna went and got two more blankets and laid them across the mans shoulders without waking him.  
  
"He is tired out, how long have you been traveling?" she asked.  
  
Karl sat and told her of their journey to Germany so far and she wasn't surprised that they were tired. She told Karl to lay down on the blankets in the corner and get some rest himself. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep. She sat at the table and read a book, she had rescued many books from the houses above and had got herself quite a nice little 'home' in the cellar.  
  
A couple of hours later, Ardeth woke with a start and wasn't sure where he was for a minute. She put her hand on his arm.  
  
"It's okay, you must have been dreaming. Do you want a drink?"  
  
"Er..yes…thank you…Anna isn't it?"  
  
"Yes, you weren't awake long enough to take much in. Here, it is not strong but it is hot"  
  
"How have you got so much stuff down here?" he asked.  
  
"My father, he hoarded food when the war started, plus all the wine and the vegetables he grew and then stored in here. When the people were taken, he hid me down here and I have been quite comfortable. But it has been lonely, the only person I have spoken too since that day, is myself, if I hadn't I would have gone mad. There is a radio over there too, so once in a while I turn it on and listen to the BBC. I know it is risky but I have to know what is going on"  
  
Ardeth was pacing the floor, his leg was aching and it was the only way to stop it hurting, the cold being the main problem.  
  
"What happened to your leg, I noticed you rubbing it and now you can't sit still"  
  
"I got shot about three weeks ago or was it longer, I can't remember. It is still sore and aches like hell"  
  
"Have you checked it since then, to make sure it is healing properly?"  
  
"Once or twice, why?"  
  
She told him to lay down on the other pile of blankets and she would look at it. Taking the lamp and standing it on the floor, she told him to take off his trousers so she could see to it. He wasn't sure at first but decided it couldn't do any harm. Taking off the bandage that was still around it, she saw that it was still very red and inflamed.  
  
"You have an infection in it, it has healed quite well but it needs treating and a clean bandage put on it. Lay still, I will get something to put on it"  
  
Getting some cream out of an old jar, which smelt vile, she rubbed some of it on the wound and then bandaged it with a clean strip of cloth. It felt better almost immediately and Ardeth was quite relived. He was going to put his trousers back on but she stopped him and getting the blankets, covered him up and told him to get some sleep.  
  
"You are quite hot although you are shivering, the infection is affecting you and you must rest. I will give you some medicine I have that might help. By the way my father was a doctor and I learnt a lot from him, so don't worry, I know what I am doing"  
  
"How old are you Anna?" asked Ardeth feeling warm for the first time in ages.  
  
"Twenty. Here, it tastes horrible but it is good stuff"  
  
Ardeth took it and pulled a face, she was right it was disgusting and he wondered what the hell was in it. Within minutes though, he was drifting off to sleep, warmer and more comfortable than he had been since he was on the ship from Cairo. Unbeknown to either of them, they had taken Anna's bed, so she had no choice but to lay beside Ardeth and pulled the blankets over herself and go to sleep. It felt nice laying next to another human being after all that time alone and there was something about this man from Egypt.  
  
When Ardeth woke a few hours later, it was still dark and he felt someone beside him, looking he saw in the light from the lamp that was left on low, that Anna was laying next to him. He thought how lovely she was and as he moved she snuggled closer. Wrapping an arm round her, he went back to sleep.  
  
Karl said nothing the next day, although he was the first to wake and saw them laying together. He was pouring a coffee when Anna got up, leaving Ardeth asleep.  
  
"That leg of his is infected a bit, I dressed it last night. He also has a bit of a temperature" she said.  
  
"I thought he wasn't well but I never said anything, he doesn't like anyone fussing. So Anna, you think I would be wasting my time trying to find my parents and my best bet would be to leave Germany, while I can"  
  
"Yes, I'm sorry Karl but that is what I do think. If they have gone to that place, they will be dead now. Stories are coming from that and other places like it, that they are gassing Jews and if you go there, you never come out"  
  
Karl sat with his head in his hands, how could this be, how could this great nation have come to this. What was wrong with this man Hitler, why did he hate the Jews so much and what was he achieving. Karl didn't know the answers. He asked Anna why no-one had stood up to Hitler and got him out of office. She laughed.  
  
"Sorry, but people liked him at first, he got them work, homes, everything that they needed and then turned on them. But by then it was too late for them to do anything about it. We were supposed to inform on our neighbors if we thought they were doing anything against the Nazi party. The children went into the Hitler Youth, people became SS, Gestapo and informers, no-one was safe and they were scared to speak, even to their friends in case they said the wrong thing"  
  
Ardeth had woken up and was listening to what she was saying. She saw him took him over a drink, feeling his head at the same time.  
  
"Good, not so hot today. Are you feeling better?"  
  
"Yes, certainly not so cold and whatever you gave me, made me sleep"  
  
"It was a mild sedative with something in it to bring temperatures down. My father made it himself. He was going to write a paper on it but never got round to it before all this happened"  
  
"So what are we going to do?" he asked Karl "I say we go back to Egypt"  
  
Karl agreed reluctantly, knowing that there would be nothing he could do now. In his heart he knew they were dead, he couldn't risk his or Ardeths life any more for a wild goose chase. They would leave that night and take Anna with them.  
  
"I know they are in there" said the German soldier "I saw them myself yesterday and no-one has come out"  
  
"Good work soldier, you will get a promotion for this. We will wait here, they have to come out soon" replied the Officer.  
  
He and about six soldiers had hidden in the garden of the house after a soldier had seen Karl and Ardeth go into the house. They normally didn't patrol that time of day but had been told to do a random sweep of the area. Their commandant would be pleased when they took two prisoners back with them. So they waited.  
  
"Right we have enough food here to last a few day" said Karl. "The quicker we leave the better. We will go back the way we came and go to that place on the Lube, there will be help there"  
  
Anna had agreed to go with them, for some reason she didn't want to let Ardeth out of her sight and anyway, she had been on her own too long. Getting the stuff together, they made their way out of the house. It was dark and they could get quite a way under the cover of darkness. They were just coming to what used to be the gate when a voice made them freeze in terror.  
  
"Halt or you will be shot. Hands in the air, now" shouted a German voice.  
  
"Oh my God" said Anna "Germans"  
  
They stood still as the soldiers came out of hiding and surrounded them, rifles pointing at them. The officer came and looked at each one in turn, lingering at Ardeth.  
  
"Well, well, what have we here. Must be two Jews, obviously stealing from these empty houses and a foreigner. My commander will be pleased"  
  
"We weren't stealing, this is my house" said Anna.  
  
"Shut up whore. Jews do not own houses" he shouted backhanding her so that she fell into the snow.  
  
Ardeth went to have a go at the officer and was hit with the rifle butt from one of the soldiers. Anna crawled over to him but he was unconscious, she turned to the officer to try and plead for his life. But he ignored her.  
  
"Get them into the truck. They can be locked up in the cells at the police station tonight and then we will find out what the commandant wants to do with them tomorrow. This is a night for celebration"  
  
The three friends were bundled into the truck and Anna could now help Ardeth who was coming round but with blood running down his face. Four soldiers sat with them, rifles poised in case they tried to escape.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked holding his head on her shoulder.  
  
"I'll be fine. I think we are in serious trouble though, very serious trouble"  
  
But as they drove away, they could have had no idea what was in store for them and that not all of them would survive.  
  
Chapter Four  
  
Detention  
  
They arrived at the police station, that had been taken over by the Gestapo, and thrown into a cell. The officer then went to tell his commandant the good news that they had arrested three people in the ruined houses. The man was quite please as he walked along the corridor to the Commandants office. He knocked on the door and went in.  
  
"Heil Hitler" he said when he closed the door.  
  
"Heil Hitler" replied the man sat at the desk. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"I have arrested three people hiding in the old houses. They are in the cells, what do you want to do with them?"  
  
"Good work, I knew there were Jews there somewhere. Who are they?"  
  
"There is a Jewish man and woman and a foreigner, with tattoos on his face"  
  
"Ahh, sounds like he comes from the middle east somewhere. The commandant at Treblinka will be interested in him. He has a thing about tattoos you know. Make sure he is not damaged in any way, at least not where they are. I will come and see the others myself"  
  
The officer saluted again and left while his 'boss' put his uniform jacket on and his hat. He then picked up his stick and went down to the cells. He ordered the man to be brought out to him, he would interrogate him personally.  
  
"You, out here" shouted one of the guards pointing the rifle at Karl.  
  
"What do you want with him?" demanded Ardeth "Let us go"  
  
"Shut up you scum, we will deal with you later. Out here you"  
  
Karl walked out of the door and was grabbed by two more soldiers and dragged into the room at the end of the corridor. In the room was the commandant, standing by the window. The two soldiers stood by the door behind Karl so that he couldn't attempt to escape.  
  
Back in the cell, Anna was crying and Ardeth put his arm round her. His head ached but he was fine and wondered what was going to happen to them.  
  
"It's okay, we'll get out of here somehow" he said.  
  
"You don't understand Ardeth, once you have been arrested by these men, you never escape, you disappear, like all the others. What do you think they are doing to Karl?"  
  
"Asking him questions I expect, he'll be back soon. I am sure they will let us go, we have done nothing wrong for them to keep us here"  
  
Anna shook her head, he really didn't understand what was going on in Germany with the Nazis. It wasn't his fault, most people would have problems with what was happening to the Jews.  
  
"So" said the officer "What were you doing in those houses, what were you stealing?"  
  
"I wasn't, I used to live there, my parents owned the house"  
  
"Jews own nothing, they are sub-human. Now I want the truth"  
  
"It is the truth, you have to believe me. I came here to look for my parents"  
  
One of the soldiers hit him with his rifle and he fell to the floor. The officer walked over to him and bent over him.  
  
"Now you will tell me the truth"  
  
"I did" gasped Karl holding his head.  
  
The officer nodded to the soldier, who kicked Karl several times in the back and sides. By the time he stopped, Karl was doubled up in pain and covered in blood from gashes on his face from the mans boots.  
  
"Now, you will tell me the truth and tell me what whore had you and what Jew raped her"  
  
This angered Karl and he tried to attack the officer, despite the pain he was in. all that happened was that he was knocked down again and then the two soldiers pulled him into a chair, while the officer went round and sat down at the typewriter.  
  
"If you want to live, I suggest you start telling me what I want to hear. First the name of the whore who gave birth to you?"  
  
Karl knew he couldn't take much more of the punishment that the soldiers were willing to dish out, so he lied about his parents to the officer. If they were dead they would understand why he was doing it.  
  
"Martha…..Martha Rosen was the whore that gave birth to me" he whispered.  
  
"Good…now, wasn't that easy. Now the name of the pimp that raped her"  
  
"Frank Rosen was the pimp"  
  
"Who did what?" asked the officer.  
  
"Who raped my mother" said Karl, tears in his eyes.  
  
"Now that whore in the cell with you, is that the one you are raping?"  
  
Karl went to say something but thought better of it. The officer was getting angry again and he nodded to the soldier.  
  
"Is she your whore, it will be better for her if she is"  
  
"Okay, yes…yes she is my whore"  
  
The officer took out the paper from the typewriter and walked over to Karl. He wanted to know about Ardeth and Karl was still unsure of what to say. Whatever he said could be the end for all of them.  
  
"This man will not get hurt, he is being selected for the Commandant of Treblinka in a few weeks time. He must not be touched too much. We are all under orders and if the commandant knows I touched him in any way, I will be shot for failing in my duty. You can understand my reasoning. Now what is his name and where does he come from?"  
  
"His name is Ardeth Bay and he comes from Egypt" said Karl his head down and his body hurting.  
  
The officer got the two soldiers to take him back to the cell, where he was thrown in and the door slammed shut behind him. Anna and Ardeth ran to him and picking him up, laid him on the old cell bed, which was just a bit of wood. He winced as they lifted him.  
  
"My God, what the hell did they do to you?" asked Ardeth looking at the injuries.  
  
He told them what had been asked of him and tears rolled down his face, Anna tried to comfort him as best she could.  
  
"They want you for some commandant at Treblinka, you are not to be touched. I don't know why although I am glad"  
  
"Ardeth, why do you think they want you?" asked Anna.  
  
"I have no idea but that is the place that we were told about. When are we to go there?" he asked looking pretty scared for the first time in his life.  
  
"He said a few weeks, I expect they will keep us here till then"  
  
Karl was trying to stay conscious but his injuries were hurting and he keeled over in Ardeths arms as he tried to lay him down again.  
  
"We have to get out of here Ardeth, somehow, if we end up at Treblinka, then we are all dead and I don't want to die yet" cried Anna.  
  
"No-one is going to die" he lied "We'll work something out. Try and sleep, that is all we can do at the moment"  
  
He kissed her head and she looked up at him and smiled weakly, he was a very handsome man she thought. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek and then snuggled down in his arms. Tears started to roll down his face. He had never been so scared in all his life and would have done anything to have Imhotep walk into that room at the moment. At least you knew where you were and what to expect from him. He had this horrible feeling that they were in the shit up to their necks and beyond and for once, he hadn't got a clue what to do, without getting them all killed.  
  
The commandant kept them in the cells for another week before seeing them again, the guards just putting the food through the slit in the door. Luckily there was a toilet in the cell as it used to belong to the ordinary police. Karl was in a pretty bad way although his injuries were healing slowly. Ardeth had tried to get him help but was told that they didn't help Jew scum.  
  
The commandant wanted to see Ardeth and he was taken to the mans office by one of the guards. He thought he was going to get the same treatment as Karl but he was wrong.  
  
"You are from Egypt, yes?" asked the commandant.  
  
"Yes, what are you going to do with me and the others?" he asked.  
  
"You are going to Thereseinstadt, a new camp, experimental and a lot better than the others. The man in charge of Treblinka wants you, he has a thing about people with tattoos. I have informed him and he is looking forward to your arrival in about two months time. It can't be any earlier as he has business in Berlin with our Fuhrer"  
  
"You mean I am not going to be beaten as Karl was"  
  
"You will not be touched, my life depends on you arriving there in one piece and without a scratch" said the commandant.  
  
"What about the others, Karl and the girl?"  
  
"The man is to be taken to Auschwitz tomorrow and the girl, I have not decided about her yet, I have a few more enquires to make"  
  
He motioned for the guards to take him back to the cell where Anna was surprised to see that he had not been beaten.  
  
"Are you alright, I thought you were going to end up like Karl. Did you find out what is going to happen to us?" she asked.  
  
"I am to go to Theresienstadt and Karl is to go to Auschwitz tomorrow. He hasn't made up his mind about you" replied Ardeth holding her.  
  
She was a young woman who had been safe till they turned up at the house, now she was in danger of being killed and it was all their fault. She sensed what he was thinking and shook her head.  
  
"No Ardeth, don't blame yourself for me being here, it was only a matter of time before I was found. I have an idea how to help you but I need to see the commandant"  
  
"You can't put yourself at risk for me or Karl. If there is any way of getting out of here and away, you must do it but please don't risk your life for me"  
  
He had sat down and was seeing to Karl when she came over and tipping his face up so she could look at him, she smiled sweetly.  
  
"Ardeth, I have only known you a few days but I am falling in love with you…no…don't say anything. Trust me, you will go back to Egypt, I promise"  
  
With that she banged on the door of the cell and demanded to see the commandant, who readily agreed to see her. She was taken to his office and without being asked she sat down.  
  
"Commandant, we have been here for over a week now and you must have found out that I am not Jewish. I lived with a Jewish family because I had been adopted but my blood is as pure as yours. Aryan blood. You have to let me go, please"  
  
He listened to her and then paced the room for a while and eventually sat down to look at some papers on his desk. Looking up, he nodded.  
  
"You can leave here on one condition. You scratch my back and I will scratch yours"  
  
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.  
  
"I have an apartment in a place called Zatac in what was the Czech republic, which belongs to us now but you can live there as long as you accommodate me whenever I want you to. You understand my meaning" he said walking behind her and touching her hair.  
  
"If I agree to this, can you promise me that Ardeth and Karl will be alright"  
  
He crouched down beside her and kissed her cheek, smiling.  
  
"I can guarantee it Anna"  
  
She agreed and he said that she would be taken there that afternoon. She would have clothes, money and a car. But then he brought out his pistol and ran it along her cheek.  
  
"But let me warn you Anna. Even though you are not a Jew, you dare to double cross me, escape or anything else and I will personally kill you. Do you understand me"  
  
"I understand perfectly and I thank you"  
  
She got up to leave, then she turned and looked at the man who was allowing her to leave but also taking control of her life.  
  
"I want to see Karl and Ardeth before I go and what is your name?"  
  
"My name is Hans…Hans Frank. Guard, take her to see her friends before she leaves. Then take her to my quarters to get cleaned up, she is leaving with me later"  
  
The guard saluted and taking Anna with him, showed her back to the cell. She told him she would only be five minutes and to wait outside. Going in she put her hand up to her lips to make Ardeth be quiet. She told him what had happened and what the commandant had promised her for her freedom. Ardeth looked sad and had that frightened look in his eyes. She spoke loudly enough so that the guard could hear what she said and then when she got close to them, she whispered.  
  
"Shh, I will be at his apartment while he is on duty, he is giving me money, a car, everything now he knows that I am not Jewish" she whispered.  
  
"He says you will be okay Ardeth" she said loudly for the guards benefit.  
  
"Don't be angry with me. While I am free, I can help you. I will get in touch with this Samuel Weiss….YOU WILL BE FINE KARL….he will know how to help you. I will tell him where you are and where Karl is. We will get you home, I swear"  
  
"Tell him to get in touch with Rick, I told him about him, he will help with money, whatever Samuel needs. Are you sure about this Anna, you are risking a great deal"  
  
She saw the guard watching and she stood up and whispered that she did and kissing Karl on the forehead and Ardeth on the cheek, touching his face to wipe the single tear that was there, she turned and knocking on the door allowed the guard to let her out. With a final smile she walked up the corridor.  
  
Ardeth hoped she knew what she was doing, she was one brave woman and he thought he would never meet another like Evy but he had. So they were leaving the next day, he wondered how Karl would get on at this other camp, if he worked he thought, he should be alright.  
  
Anna had gone with the commandant by the time the trucks arrived to take the other two to their new homes. Ardeth had told Karl where they were taking him and he just nodded and said he would be fine. Secretly he had no intention of going to Auschwitz, that was the one place he had heard about even when he was in Egypt, a camp where you went in but never came out. It was said that it was an extermination camp, many did not believe but a lot did. He hoped that Ardeth would be fine and he regretted ever asking him to help him.  
  
"Ardeth, thank you for everything you have done for me. I regret that you had to come with me to end up in this mess. I will be fine and please, when you get home, tell Evy that I loved her as my own daughter"  
  
"Karl, we will both get out of this, I am sure. Anna said she would help us, I believe her, we have to"  
  
"No Ardeth, there will be no help for me. I will never leave Germany again. Please don't say a word and don't watch me get into that truck when we leave. Swear to me you won't"  
  
Ardeth didn't understand what he was going on about, but he promised he would not watch him. He thought Karl didn't want anyone to see him humiliated but he was quite wrong and what happened in the next ten minutes would make all Karl said become very clear.  
  
The guards took both men outside and with handcuffs on, they were led to the trucks, Ardeth was put on the first truck and his hands cuffed to the rail that ran across the width of the truck. He saw them bring Karl out and go to put him on the second truck that was beside his. He turned his head away as he had promised and Karl seeing this, smiled, looked at the guards and said something in Hebrew.  
  
"God help and forgive them and keep Ardeth safe"  
  
With that, he ran and hearing shouts, Ardeth looked up in time to see the guards aim at Karls back and fire. He shouted but was pushed down by the guard as Karl fell to the ground, his back riddled with bullets.  
  
"Why Karl why?" gasped Ardeth, wishing he could have done something to stop this.  
  
"Because he knew he would die anyway" said the guard in the truck "Still it saves us petrol getting him there and the camp from killing him"  
  
"Guard, what do mean, the camp from killing him, please tell me"  
  
The guard bent down as though to tie his shoe up and whispered close to Ardeths face.  
  
"If you tell anyone, I will die too. Auschwitz – it's what they call a death camp, anyone going there is gassed, a new thing to get rid of the Jews"  
  
"Allah help us all" said Ardeth putting his head down.  
  
"Look, I don't agree with what the Fuhrer is doing, a lot don't but we can't do anything, we are too few. But let me warn you, the place where you are going, Theresienstadt, be careful, it is not what it appears to the world. When they take you to Treblinka, if there is anyway of escaping, do it"  
  
Ardeth looked up at the guard and asked him why he was helping him.  
  
"That doesn't matter, just do as I say. Treblinka is another death camp, you will die there"  
  
"The commandant said I would be alright because of my tattoos" replied Ardeth.  
  
"Yes, he wants people with tattoos because then he can kill them and use their skins to make lamps and other things. I know because I have seen the letters. But if you say a word I will deny ever talking to you"  
  
As soon as the guard had told him, Ardeth was sick over the side of the truck, mainly from fear. As he did so, the guard stood up and walked to the back of the truck to see what was keeping the driver. Ardeth sat back up, his hands starting to hurt and looked at the guard who seeing he was okay, sat down as the back went up and the driver got in, ready to go.  
  
The guard, seeing that Ardeth was watching the others drag Karls body across the courtyard as they drove off, he looked at the Arab and nodded.  
  
"Remember what I said, escape before it's too late"  
  
  
  
Chapter Five  
  
The Paradise Camp  
  
Ardeth was upset about what had happened to Karl, obviously the man knew what was going to happen and that he was not going to live once he got to Auschwitz. He also couldn't understand why the guard had told him and why he had told him to escape the first chance he got.  
  
All the way to Theresienstadt, he had been silent and just sat there while they drove holding his rifle although it wasn't aimed at Ardeth like it should have been. Ardeth was so cold, it was snowing hard and the canvas round the truck didn't keep out the wind and coldness.  
  
About half way there, the guard, seeing how uncomfortable Ardeth was, released his hands from the rail and just cuffed them together and also put a heavy German trench coat round his shoulders. Ardeth thanked him and he sat back down near the back of the truck.  
  
By the time they arrived at Theresienstadt, Ardeth was froze and hungry, he didn't think he would ever get warm again. The guards took him into the camp through an arch way above which, he could see in the headlights of the truck a sign 'ARBEIT MACHT FREI' which meant 'Work Means Freedom' then turning left across a long courtyard, past a lot of doors that he assumed were cells and into a big building at the end.  
  
He was made to stand by the door till the commandant of the camp was summoned and the guard handed him a letter from the officer at the police station from where they had come from. He read it and sat down, looking at the man standing before him.  
  
"You are a lucky man, you have been selected for the commandant at Treblinka and we have been told to look after you"  
  
Getting up he walked round Ardeth and looked at his tattoos which seemed to be the only thing anyone was interested in and thanks to the guard, he knew why.  
  
"What do all these mean?" he asked pointing to the ones on his face.  
  
"They are tribal marks, put there when I was born" replied Ardeth.  
  
"Well, I am not a hard man Ardeth Bay but while you are here you will obey orders the same as anyone else. You will not be put with the other prisoners, I have a room especially for you in this building. You are to be given a job in the records office working with two other prisoners. The only privileges that you will have any different to anyone else is the room."  
  
He summoned the guard to take Ardeth to the room, which was at the top of the building, in the attic. All that was there was a bed and a bucket for convenience, no heating and only one blanket. He was starving but was too tired to even think about food and was asleep as soon as his head touched the bed.  
  
A banging on the bed woke him in the morning at 5am and the guard told him to get up and get in line with the others if he wanted anything to eat, it would be the only food he would get till the evening. Getting dressed he followed the guard outside into the courtyard and was told to get in the queue for the food and was given a metal dish.  
  
It was freezing and he couldn't stop shaking as he waited. There were about fifty people in front of him and not a sound came from any of them as they stood there. At last he reached the table where a man was dishing out the food. He didn't know what he was expecting but what he got wasn't it. A ladle full of some sort of grey colored porridge and a chunk of dry bread.  
  
When he had got it, he was taken to the office where he was going to work and he sat in the corner to eat. It was disgusting and it made him feel sick but what choice did he have. He had no idea really how long he was going to be there but he knew he couldn't survive on just this stuff. Two men came in and introduced themselves, they had been told about him and that he was to help them.  
  
"Hello, my name is Emil and this is Max, we don't bother with last names here, doesn't mean anything. Can you do this sort of work?"  
  
"I think so if you show me what needs to be done" he replied.  
  
They took him over to the desk at the end of the room and told him that all the names of the prisoners had to be entered in one book, Jews, the old, the young and any other ethnic group then transferred to another book, one for each group. Then all those that were transported to other camps had to be entered. No mistakes were to be made or they would be reprimanded.  
  
After about two weeks, they trusted Ardeth enough to take him into their confidence and tell him what they were really doing. He had noticed that they entered all the names into another book that was hidden as soon as a guard approached. He never asked what it was, guessing that one day they would tell him.  
  
"We are keeping a record of all the people that come here, regardless of who or where they come from. It is hidden in the panel here at the back of the desk. When the war is over, it will tell people what has been going on here. We are also doing drawings, they are rolled up and hidden too. Are you interested in helping us?"  
  
"Of course, what can I do?" asked Ardeth.  
  
He was getting weaker because of the lack of food and his Med-jai robes had been changed for the ones that they all wore. But he was to wear them when he was transferred to Treblinka at the commandants orders.  
  
Emil showed him the books, two so far all full of names and ages and then he showed him the drawings and asked if he could draw, Ardeth said he could but wasn't very good.  
  
"You don't have to be, you have seen what is going on here, what is left of the people because of the lack of food, the beatings, the dead. Fifty people died last night alone because of typhoid. It is getting more every day, you are lucky you are staying in this building, I don't know why but at least it is keeping you free from the disease"  
  
"The commandant at Treblinka wants me to be unharmed because of my tattoos, he has a thing about them. But the guard on the truck told me that it is because he makes lamps out of the skin of humans"  
  
"When have you got to go there?"  
  
"About another six weeks I think, if I last that long. I feel lousy and so weak and I have never been so cold in my life"  
  
"Then you have six weeks to live plus however long it takes to get there. We have heard stories about that place and the man in charge. The guard was right but why he told you I don't know. Maybe a guilty conscience, we will try and get you some more food, it doesn't matter to us, we are being transferred to Auschwitz in three months time, then other people will take over our job"  
  
"Why does no-one do anything about these Nazis. I have seen no resistance to them since I have been in Europe, everyone seems to take what they do as a matter of course"  
  
"I have asked myself the same question time after time but I don't know the answer. Maybe they know that they couldn't fight the whole Nazi machine and just take what they think they deserve"  
  
Over the next week, Ardeth did some charcoal drawings of some of the children that he had seen. Not detailed ones just shadows of the same, the dead laying in the courtyard, the overcrowding. Anything that he thought could be used after the war. Then one day Emil came in and told him and Max that the red cross were visiting the camp and they had to help get the main street through the camp ready.  
  
"This is the show they put on once a year for the Red Cross so that they assumed that the people were being properly cared for. Fresh food will be in the 'shops' children will be playing in the street and music will be played, then after they have gone, it will all disappear. We won't get the food, that goes to the guards and their families"  
  
Everything went according to plan and the Red Cross were satisfied that the camp was running smoothly and they left. Within half an hour the place was back to how it was, dirty, cold and unhygienic. People laying in the courtyard and the old table with the big pot on it dishing out the came horrible soup that seemed to be a regular thing.  
  
Emil and Ardeth went back into the office and settled down to do some more drawings. Ardeth rested his head on the table and the other man went to see if he was okay.  
  
"I feel so ill" replied Ardeth "I just want to sleep"  
  
"You will be able to but not for another three or four hours. Here put this round you, it might help a bit"  
  
He draped an old blanket round his shoulders and Ardeth pulled out some paper to draw another picture. Suddenly Emil gasped and the man looked over at him and asked what was wrong.  
  
"Three of the pictures have gone, taken. If the Germans find them we have all had it including you"  
  
"Where could they have gone, we have been so careful" replied Ardeth.  
  
Just then Max came in smoking a cigarette, Emil went over to him and took it from his mouth.  
  
"And where did you get this?" he asked "Have you taken some of our drawings?"  
  
"Yes, I wanted some cigarettes and the guard told me he would swap some for the drawings. Doesn't matter, he said he wouldn't tell anyone about them"  
  
"You bloody fool, of course he will. Well we are all dead now, you selfish bastard" shouted Emil and went to attack Max.  
  
Ardeth grabbed him to try and stop him from losing his temper but in his weakened state, he keeled over onto the wooden floor. Emil let go of Max and they lifted Ardeth into the chair, giving him a drink of the not so clean water that was in the room. He slowly came round.  
  
"You have to wake up Ardeth, if the guards see this you will be taken to one of the other blocks, regardless of where you are supposed to be going"  
  
"Sorry, just too weak to move" he said trying to shake off the dizziness that still threatened.  
  
"I am sorry Emil, I never thought of what could happen" said Max "I just wanted a cigarette that was all"  
  
"Well it's too late to worry now. Let's hope the guard keeps his promise"  
  
Two days later, the office door was kicked open and guards came in and told the three men to stand by the wall while they searched the place. They smashed every possible thing they could and then the officer in charge demanded to know where the rest of the drawings were.  
  
"We know they are here, we have seen some of them. if you don't tell us, you will be questioned about them in the guard room"  
  
No-one said anything, Emil had managed to get the drawings and the books out of the building and one of the women had buried them near the fence at the far end of the camp late on night so that no-one found them. The guards finding nothing, took them to the guard house and put them in separate cells with no light or window and shut the door and left.  
  
They managed to talk to each other through the walls, encouraging each other not to crack when they interrogated them the next day, which they would. True to form, just as it was getting light, the guards came back and they heard the door of the cell open at the end and it was Max who was taken out first.  
  
He had his feet put in a special frame and were clamped so that he couldn't move, then he was made to lay across the other part of the frame and his hands tied to the legs at the front. Then he was asked about the drawings, he said nothing.  
  
"Come on, we know they are there, tell me where and you can be released" shouted the guard.  
  
"Never, you will never know, you can kill me first"  
  
"That is the general idea, carry on"  
  
The other guard brought down the flat, wooden paddle across his back, Max screamed in pain and that got another one. For half an hour they beat him, his back, his buttocks, his legs and anything else they missed. The screaming had stopped after about ten minutes, then he just gritted his teeth and now he was unconscious.  
  
Seeing this the officer told them to stop and he was dragged back to his cell and left on the floor, bruises and blood covering his body.  
  
Then they got Emil and the same thing was done to him. He also kept his mouth shut and was left in his cell in the same state as Max. Next it was Ardeths turn and he was also beaten and left in his cell. This went on every hour for about six hours. By the time they were finished, Max was dead.  
  
They were just about to beat Ardeth again when the commandant came in after returning from Berlin, two weeks later than he had said. He had heard about the drawings and that the three men were in the cells. But he had no idea that they were being beaten and that one of them had died. Walking in, he saw the man in the frame and fired his gun to stop the guards. They stood to attention and saluted him.  
  
"What in the name of God are you doing here. Get this man out of that thing. Heads are going to roll for this. On whose orders are these beatings taking place?"  
  
"On my orders" said the officer "Drawings were found that showed us in a bad light and they wouldn't tell us where the others were so I wanted to get the information out of them by the time you came back Sir"  
  
The commandant opened the other two cells and saw the dead man and Emil almost dead, then he turned to Ardeth who was laying on the ground after being taken out of the frame where they were going to beat him again. He bent down and felt his pulse, he was still alive, just.  
  
"You Captain are now reduced in rank to private, you two will patrol the wire outside the camp every day until I say otherwise. You will never take it upon yourself to issue beatings without my signed authority. Now get rid of that body, take the man in the cell to the infirmary and bring this man to my quarters"  
  
"Your quarters Sir" asked the guard.  
  
"Yes, I can have you reduced in rank and killed for this breach in my command but I am not going to be held responsible for what happens to this man. I have orders from high up that he was not to be touched, he is a special case, destined for Treblinka and if the commandant there is please with him, I will be made General and be shot of this place. Now do as I say and send the doctor to my quarters immediately"  
  
"You heard the commandant, move" shouted the officer.  
  
"You have no right to give orders any more, you are a private from this moment. So you can get rid of the body in the cell while you, can bring him and come with me"  
  
The 'private' looked at the guards who followed the man out of the guard house, leaving him to dispose of the body of Max. He was not very happy about all this but knew he could nothing.  
  
The commandant was scared that he would be killed or sent to the Russian Front if this Egyptian died because of his incompetence. He prayed on the way back to his quarters that he wasn't too late. He knew that Ardeth would die at Treblinka but then it wasn't his problem, he would have done his bit but getting the man killed wasn't part of it. It was so much easier when they came to the camp, did their work and were then transported out to the other camps. He didn't need all this hassle because of one man.  
  
"Lay him there and leave. Send the doctor up as soon as he arrives."  
  
He wasn't a murderer, at least not like some of the others, okay he did know what was going on and he closed his eyes and mind to it. All he wanted was to get through the war and then go back to his wife in Berlin. He also knew that the generals in Berlin had been trying to get him out of this job for a while because they said he was too soft for what they wanted. If this got out, he would be gone before Ardeth.  
  
His quarters were at the end of the camp, away from the main part and were quite comfortable. Ardeth was laid on the bed and as the guard turned to leave.  
  
"You will say nothing of this do you understand. If I hear one word you will be shipped out of here."  
  
"Yes Sir, Heil Hitler"  
  
A knock on the door signaled the arrival of the doctor and the man let him in.  
  
"You sent for me Sir"  
  
"Yes, examine that man and make him well. He must not die"  
  
The doctor went over to the man laying on the bed and then turned to the commandant.  
  
"But he is a prisoner, put him in the infirmary and if he lives, so be it"  
  
"You will do as I order doctor. He is not to go to the infirmary, I want him to live. If he dies, so do I. If he goes there he will be dead in a week with all the disease in that place"  
  
"I do my best commandant, but I can't…"  
  
"Get on with it and stop blabbering"  
  
The doctor nodded and started to examine Ardeth, taking off the clothes first and then asking for hot water and cloths. The officer opened the door and told the guard to get what he required and to be quick about it.  
  
An hour later, the doctor had done what he could. There were no bones broken luckily but he could have internal injuries that were impossible to treat without the proper facilities but he had managed to treat all the bruises and bleeding. The commandant told him to leave and if he needed him he would send for him.  
  
"I will see to him now, is there anything I should know"  
  
"He is in a bad way, I don't know if he will live or not. There is no way to tell what damage has been done inside, I am not a surgeon. Keep him warm, give him soup and liquids when he wakes up, if he wakes up. That is all you can do"  
  
The commandant didn't need all this but his life depended on it. He had no choice, if the generals in Berlin got wind of this. He daren't think of that. When this war started he had been in favour of all the orders and what was proposed but now, maybe he was getting old. He wished he had never joined up but even then he had had no choice. His wife hadn't wanted him to go and even last week when he saw her while in Berlin, she still tried to get him to take a desk job. She was scared for him and rightly so it seemed. He had heard and seen things in Berlin that made him question exactly what they were doing.  
  
What he didn't know was that he would be gone from there in about three months time and the place would be taken over by a Karl Rahm, who was a monster and would totally turn the place into a stopping block for the other camps.  
  
He left orders that he was not to be disturbed under any circumstances and that no-one was to go up there except to bring food. He would come down once a day to sign any papers etc that needed doing.  
  
Ardeth stayed unconscious for five days before eventually waking up. He was getting really worried that he wasn't going to. It was nearly midnight and he was sitting in the chair reading when he heard a noise from the bed. Getting up and hurrying over, he saw that the man was waking. He got the glass of water from the cabinet and lifting Ardeths head, managed to get some down him.  
  
Ardeth couldn't focus for a moment when he opened his eyes and didn't know where he was. Suddenly all that happened in the cells came back to him and for a minute thought he was still there. Then he felt a hand left his head and cool water trickled down his throat. It was then he saw the commandant.  
  
"Take it easy. I am here to help you. I am sorry about what happened, I knew nothing about it. I stopped it as soon as I got back. You have been in my quarters for the last five days, I didn't think you would ever wake up"  
  
Ardeth didn't understand what was going on but he was too tired, weak and sore to worry at the moment. One minute he was being beaten by the Germans and then he found himself being helped by the man in charge. Before he could even think of a question to ask the man, he was asleep.  
  
For another three days, the commandant got food into him and fluids as the doctor had said when he was awake, which wasn't for long at a time and for the rest he slept. He felt so guilty that he was fattening him up, so to speak just so he could get killed at Treblinka. One morning.  
  
"How long have I been here?" he asked as he woke up and looked around.  
  
"Nearly ten days, how are you feeling?" asked the commandant.  
  
"Better but I don't understand, why are you doing this and where are Emil and Max?"  
  
"They are both dead, I wasn't back in time to save them. this should never have happened. It was just a power hungry officer who thought he was doing the right thing. Do you want something to eat?"  
  
"Why are you doing this though, I know I am going to die at Treblinka, I have been told what the man wants the tattoos for"  
  
"I am doing this to save my own neck, okay. I am a coward when it comes to death, especially my own. Who told you what was going to happen?"  
  
"Does it matter, I know" replied Ardeth "I am not happy about it, maybe you should have left me to die here, I wouldn't have known anything about it"  
  
"I know I am playing God because of selfish reasons but I didn't want you to die. I did some digging around while I was in Berlin and I found out some things about the Med-jai. In your country you are a great leader, a leader of many men. How could I let someone so brave die in cell from being beaten for a drawing"  
  
He sat down beside Ardeth while he ate, he was starving and the food was good, the same as what the commandant ate. Nothing like what was being given to the prisoners. But Ardeth wasn't going to get involved in that matter, it could put his life in jeopardy again even with the commandant being kind to him.  
  
Over the next day or so, Ardeth discovered that the commandant didn't want to be doing the job he had been put in and that his wife wanted him to do a desk job in Berlin and leave all the killing to someone else. The man asked him to call him Hans and he learnt a lot about the Med-jai from Ardeth.  
  
The injuries were healing well and Ardeth felt a lot better, the food had helped the most, he knew if he hadn't been given that, he probably wouldn't have lived, the weakness would have killed him before the injuries.  
  
It was a strange combination, a German commandant and a Med-jai, thrown together through war and an over jealous officer and yet they were becoming friends. Both had respect for the other and neither knew what the future was to have in store for them.  
  
  
  
Chapter Six  
  
Anna's Quest  
  
Anna went along with what the man wanted for the first week and then he told her that he was going to Hamburg for a meeting and would be back in about four days. She told him she would be fine and would be doing some shopping or something while he was away and would be waiting for him to return. He was quite happy to leave her and looked forward to seeing her again.  
  
She left it for a few hours to make sure he was definitely gone and then getting her coat, packing a few things in a bag and taking the car that her new man had given her and drove out of Zatac towards the place where she had been told Samuel was.  
  
Finding the house, she stopped the car and got out. She heard a click of a gun behind her and slowly turning round came face to face with a big man pointing a rifle at her.  
  
"Who are you and what do you want?" he asked in a rough voice.  
  
"I have come to see Samuel Weiss" she stammered.  
  
"Who, never heard of him now what do you want?"  
  
"I told you, I was sent by Ardeth and Karl, they are in trouble. I came to get help"  
  
The door opened in the house and a man stepped out and told the big man to putthe rifle away.  
  
"I am Samuel Weiss. You know we have to be careful who we let in here. Now please come in and tell me what has happened"  
  
Slowly she walked into the house, followed by the two men. Inside was a fire and she walked over to it to get warm. Turning she saw another three men sitting around the room. Hoping she was safe, she asked if she could have a cup of the coffee on the fire. Samuel nodded and bade her sit down.  
  
"Ardeth and Karl were arrested a few days after you left them. His home had been ruined and I was living next door, in the basement. Had been for months, my father had stocked up on food before he was taken away. I took them into the basement and looked after them. Ardeth's leg was infected a bit and he slept for ages. Then we agreed to leave and return to Egypt after I had told him about the camp and that he would never find his family"  
  
"What happened then…you never told me your name"  
  
"I am sorry, it's Anna...Anna Segal. We were arrested when we left the house, they must have been watching and waiting. They took us to a police station and Karl was beaten. Ardeth was told that he would be sent to Treblinka because the man who ran the place wanted people with tattoos. The only way to help them was for me to agree to move in with the commandant because I am not Jewish. This I did and as soon as I had a chance I came to find you. You have to help find them. they are going to die if you don't"  
  
"Do you know where they were going to take them. they wouldn't keep them there for long?"  
  
"Theresienstadt… but I don't know for how long"  
  
Anna drank her coffee while Samuel spoke to one of the men, who got the others to go with him outside, leaving Samuel and the girl alone. He sat on the other side of the table.  
  
"I can try and help but we have some airmen to get out of Germany. Still, my men can deal with that. That leaves me to find them"  
  
"No it leaves us, I will be going with you. Ardeth mentioned someone called Rick, he said he would help"  
  
"It is too dangerous for a woman and this Rick lives in Egypt. How long since you saw Ardeth?"  
  
"About ten days ago"  
  
Samuel went to the door and called the other men back.  
  
"Brez, you will take the men and arrange to get the airmen out. I am going to try and find Ardeth and Karl"  
  
"But Samuel, if they are in Thereseinstadt or Treblinka, you will never be able to rescue them. They will be in trains, many guards, you will be killed trying and probably get them killed too."  
  
"Rudi, you know where to go to find out who has left that police station and what is going to happen to them. That guard is quite helpful, you know the one I mean"  
  
"Be as quick as I can" he said and left.  
  
"Right, we can't do anything before tonight, we will be seen by the patrol about half a mile away. Get some rest and I will make a plan of what to do"  
  
Anna thanked him and went to lay down on the bed in the corner, she was asleep before too long. Samuel spoke to one of the other men.  
  
"Depending on what Rudi finds out, I am going to go to Egypt. I am going to need this Rick to help me. You lot have to get those airman back to England, they have important information that has to get back there. There is a little airfield about twenty miles inside the Austrian border that is owned by a good friend of mine. We can be there and back in three days or less. He has a fairly fast little plane that he has modified, does about 100 miles an hour I am told, not bad for a small plane"  
  
"Are you taking the girl with you?"  
  
"Yes and hopefully I can leave her in Egypt. I just hope we can find them before it is too late"  
  
Later that day, Rudi returned and told Samuel that Ardeth had been taken to Theresienstadt and would be there about two months and then transferred to Treblinka.  
  
"And Karl?"  
  
"Karl is dead. They were taking him to that new camp, Auschwitz, he must have heard about it and when they were putting him in the truck to take him. He ran, they shot him in the back."  
  
"OH NO" shouted Anna who had heard what they said.  
  
Samuel went over to her and put his arm round her.  
  
"I am sorry Anna. He choice the easy way out, the more dignified for him. He would have been murdered at that camp and he must have known it. But don't worry, we'll find Ardeth, somehow"  
  
He told her to get ready, they were leaving straight away and told her what they were going to do. It was Friday, they could be back by Monday night or early Tuesday morning. Ardeth wasn't going anyway at the moment and if he kept his nose clean he would be treated reasonably.  
  
It was dark and they reached the Austrian border within about five hours going across country. Getting to the airfield was the hardest and they had to avoid a convoy of tanks and soldiers that were traveling towards Slovakia. But they eventually got there and Samuel introduced Anna to Carlos, a Spanish man who had lived in Austria for many years.  
  
"I need to go to Egypt, now. Here is enough money to cover the fuel. Will you take us?"  
  
"Of course my friend. Anything to get away from here. Come, get on board"  
  
He was a jolly man and quite partial to a drink which could be seen by his manner at that moment. Samuel helped Anna into the plane and after a while, Carlos came on board and started the engines.  
  
"Are you sure no-one will see us, it is not quite daylight" asked Samuel  
  
"We will be over the Mediterranean before the sun rises, don't worry. Why do you wish to go there Samuel and who is the girl?"  
  
Samuel explained what was going on and he gave Carlos another wad of money to keep his mouth shut all the way there and back unless he spoke to him. He couldn't stand it when he had been drinking, he got so loud mouthed and sarcastic.  
  
They slept for quite a few hours and were woken by the plane lurching suddenly and found themselves in a storm, which would help them because no other plane would be in the air and the gunners wouldn't be able to see them from the ground, let alone fire at them.  
  
They had stopped to refuel the plane and then they took off again and it wasn't long before they arrived in Cairo at a place that was owned by a man called Izzy, one of Ardeth and Ricks friends. Samuel explained to Izzy that he needed to find Rick as soon as possible.  
  
"Okay, you pay me and I will take you too him. But if you are here to shoot him, let me know, I want to watch"  
  
"No, I need his help to find Ardeth. He is in danger and could be killed"  
  
Izzy stopped dead when he heard this, he knew Ardeth had gone to Germany but he assumed he would be back in no time. Loading up the car, they headed for the museum in Cairo where Rick was. Walking into the museum, Izzy was greeted by Evy, who hadn't seen him for a long time.  
  
"Izzy how wonderful to see you, what brings you here?"  
  
"This is Samuel and Anna, they have come to see Rick, it is about Ardeth"  
  
"Ardeth…what has happened is he alright?"  
  
"Please could we go somewhere and discuss this with Rick"  
  
"Of course, come in here please. RICK…Rick"  
  
"What is all the shouting about…oh Izzy, who is this?"  
  
Evy gave them all a drink and they sat down. Samuel introduced himself and told them everything that had happened. Anna filled in all the gaps that he didn't know. Evy was in tears when she heard about Karl and about Ardeth. She gripped Ricks hand tightly, tears streaming down her face.  
  
"Jesus, what the hell is going on in that country" said Rick slamming his fist on the table.  
  
"Germany has taken over most of Europe" said Samuel "Hitler has, is exterminating all Jews and people of ethnic race. If you want to save your friend, we have to return to Germany and find him."  
  
"But I can't go, my job for the government won't allow me too or I would have gone with Karl in the first place" said Rick.  
  
"Rick, you have to go. Ardeth wouldn't have told Samuel about you if he didn't need you. We owe him Rick, for the times we needed him" said Evy "You have to go. We have lost too many friends over the years and I will not lose Ardeth…I…I love him too much"  
  
Rick looked at her and saw a side of her that he had not seen before, she didn't love Ardeth as she loved him but it was the first time she had ever admitted that she cared about him in that way. Then Anna spoke.  
  
"Please Mr O'Connell, I have only know Ardeth for such a short time but I have fallen in love with him and I know I don't want to lose him before I have had a chance to tell him how I feel. You must help him"  
  
Rick paced the floor, thinking about all the times that he had asked for Ardeths help, maybe not in so many words but the man had been there for him, fought beside him when they were at Hamunaptra and Ahm Shere and now it was his turn to return the favor.  
  
"Of course I will go. I must, as Evy said I owe him my life, many times over. When do we leave?"  
  
"Tomorrow, there is a few repairs on the plane to be done and we need to rest. I want Anna to stay here, is that alright with you"  
  
"No, I am going with you" she said. "You promised"  
  
"I am sorry but it will be too dangerous for you to go back there. Please wait here, as soon as we have him, we will be on our way back to Egypt" said Samuel.  
  
"Of course Anna, please, this is a job for Samuel and Rick, I would like to go but I know I can't. You will be safe here, if I know Ardeth he wouldn't want you there putting your life in danger for him"  
  
She knew they were right and she didn't want to go back to Germany ever but she didn't want the wait or the worry about Ardeth. Nodding her head, she agreed to stay with Evy and Alex. If Ardeth was okay, she would see him soon.  
  
They left the next day, late in the afternoon, it would now be Wednesday before they reached Austria and from there they would go directly to Theresienstadt and see how they could rescue Ardeth.  
  
Chapter Seven  
  
Transport to Treblinka  
  
Ardeth was getting much better with Hans help but he knew that eventually he would have to be taken to Treblinka. He had learnt a great deal about the man during the last few days. He wasn't a bad man, basically just following orders although it didn't make it acceptable what he had been allowing to happen.  
  
"I have had a cable from the commandant of Treblinka" said Hans one morning "You are to be transferred there in three weeks. I'm sorry there is nothing I can do"  
  
"I know. You are sure that what I was told, about him killing me for the tattoos is correct?"  
  
"Oh I am sure. You will be lucky to live more than a couple of days once you arrive there."  
  
Hans looked out of the window at the courtyard over the other side of the fence. He saw the prisoners, or what was left of them, leaving through the gate to work on the quarry nearby. He saw one of them fall to the ground, obviously dead and the guard kicking him to the side where he was left there while the others filed past. He made a decision.  
  
"I have an idea Ardeth, but you will have to give me a few days. I think I might be able to help you"  
  
Ardeth was told to stay in the room just in case any of the guards saw him and wondered why he was there. Hans had kept it as quiet as he could about looking after the Arab, only one guard knew he was there and he knew what would happen to him if he told anyone. Hans did not want the high up generals in Berlin to find out he was helping prisoners when he should be either making them work or transporting them out of there.  
  
Once the man had gone, Ardeth sat and thought about Karl and how he was going to tell Evy about what had happened to him. He was still uncomfortable from the injuries he had got from the guards. He realized he was lucky to be alive after that, Emil and Max hadn't been so lucky. All this over some drawings. He wondered how many people would be dead at the hands of the Nazis by the time the war ended, if it ever ended.  
  
A few days later, Hans came in with a briefcase and locked the door behind him, Ardeth was sleeping and Hans woke him up when he came in.  
  
"Ardeth, I have found a way to help you. Now I am putting my neck on the line here, if anyone finds out what I have done, I will be shot as quickly as any other prisoner. I find I like you but mainly because you are a warrior in your own country and not a Jew, I have to help"  
  
"What have you got in mind Hans?" asked Ardeth.  
  
"I have managed to get papers, id card etc with your picture on them so that you can travel back to Egypt. What I can't do, is get you out of here. You have to escape on route to Treblinka"  
  
"But how, I will be on the train, there will be guards, lots of other prisoners, it will be very hard if not impossible to escape from there"  
  
"No it won't. You are to be put on the last carriage, where the guards are, normally only two. It is assumed that no others are needed on the train, there are enough once the train arrives at its destination. On the morning that you leave, which is in ten days time by the way. I will make sure that the papers are hidden in the last carriage. Here is a plan of the carriage, I will put the papers in the roof just about here"  
  
He pointed to a part of the carriage and showed Ardeth how to get out of the carriage. He told him there would also be a loaded gun with the papers, he would need it.  
  
"How you deal with the guards is up to you. The train goes via Ostrava, near the Slovkian border, you will be able to escape there. There is a wood right next to the railway line. Once off the train, just get out of there before anyone sees you"  
  
"Why don't you come with me. You said if they find out about this, they will kill you."  
  
"No, they are more likely to find out if I disappear at the same time as you escape. There is also coats for the guards on the train and there will be food. Take what you have to but be as quick as you can once the train has stopped."  
  
Ardeth had no choice but to trust him, okay he had nursed him back to health when he should have left him with the other prisoners but that didn't make him a saint. He was still a German commandant, in charge of a concentration camp. Time would tell if he was right.  
  
The ten days came and went quite quickly and the day came for Ardeth to be transported to Treblinka. The commandant had been on the train and hidden the papers and the gun without the guards seeing him and then he went to get Ardeth. He said nothing but nodded his head to let him know the task was done. He had already said his goodbyes to the man who had become a sort of friend in the past month. Ardeth had told him that if he did survive the war, that he was welcome to come to Egypt if he was ever in the area.  
  
"We have all done things in our lives that we are not proud of, grudges should not be held"  
  
The guards took him on the train and cuffed him to a ring attached to the side of the carriage, they would be taken off when the train was underway. The guards had been paid well to make sure Ardeth arrived at Treblinka in a healthy state. It was all the same to them, he was just another man to be killed when he got there, who were they to argue about giving him food on the way. The money bought some good vodka and they would enjoy that on the way there. It was over 500 miles to Treblinka, give or take.  
  
The commandant watched the train leave the station and then walked back to his car and the journey back to Theresienstadt. As he got in the car, he looked at the letter that was in his pocket. It was from Berlin, he was to be replaced in two days time by another man, a sadistic animal from all accounts. Hans was to be sent back to Berlin and the desk job that would keep him there for the rest of the war.  
  
The train was slow and it would take about one day to reach Ostrava, so Ardeth had to make sure the guards were out of the way by that time. They uncuffed him but kept a rifle on him at all times. The timing would have to be precise. It came that night when one of the guards brought him some food. The other had been drinking the vodka and was asleep in the chair.  
  
Ardeth had asked for some water and after two attempts, the guard got up and brought some over to him. As he handed the old cup to him, Ardeth hit him before he knew what was happening. He went down quickly, the other man jumping up at the noise but wasn't quick enough for the Arab. Quickly he tied them up and gagged them so that no-one would hear them when they arrived at Ostrava.  
  
He found the papers and the gun but he also took the rifle, put on one of the heavy overcoats and waited for the train to slow down. It would be no good waiting till it actually stopped, it could be in the station, he would have to jump off just before. He felt the brakes go on and slowly the train started to stop. He undid the door and slid it back a bit. He could see the trees but there was about twenty yards of clear ground covered in snow between the train and the trees, he would have to make sure he landed right and then run for the trees and hide till the train moved out again.  
  
It was easier than it looked and he was in the trees hiding within a minute, laying there watching train disappear round the bend that led to the station. Getting up, he moved through the trees until he found a really dark place and settled there for the night. Hans had told him not to travel at night if he could help it, at least not till he got across Slovkia. He was cold and pulled the coat round him.  
  
He had decided that he would try and get through Slovakia and Hungary and make his way to Hunedoara, to the monastery where Father Shandor was. From there he could get back to Egypt.  
  
Rick and Samuel had made it into the Czech Republic although it was part of Germany now to a place called Kladno where Samuel had friends who would help them. One of the men was sent to make some inquiries about Ardeth at Theresienstadt and to report back to him as soon as possible. Rick was very quiet and Samuel asked him what the matter was, knowing he was worried about his friend.  
  
"I can't believe what I saw in those villages on the way here. Totally destroyed and that last one. The one we watched from the hill, I can't believe a human being could do such things" he said  
  
"I have seen a lot worse than that my friend. There was one town, last year. There was me and a few of my men trying to get to some navel men, who were hiding out there, waiting to get back to England. By the time we arrived, the Germans had already arrested most of the town. We saw two soldiers dragging a woman by the hair, out of a flat. She was holding something in her arms when she was thrown to the ground. It was a child, one of the guards picked up the child by the leg and held him in the air, the woman was pleading with him. But the guard bashed the childs head against the wall, killing him, then he shot the mother"  
  
Rick felt sick and drank some vodka that he had in his hand. Never had he heard such stories of cruelty. Through all this, he knew his friend was out there, in the middle of it and it was his fault. He was the one to ask him to go. Now Karl was dead and maybe…maybe Ardeth was too.  
  
A few hours later, the man came back and told them that Ardeth had been transported to Treblinka about two days ago. But the might have good news as well. The commandant at the camp, was leaving the next day, he had been replaced but there were rumors that he had helped Ardeth.  
  
"We have to go and talk to this man. It means getting into the camp, can it be done?" asked Samuel.  
  
"Yes, the mans quarters are at the far end of the camp, there are no guards and no towers. It would be quite easy to get in and get out quickly" replied Rudi.  
  
"Okay, we leave now, we can be there and back in a few hours"  
  
They crept round the back of the camp to where the quarters were and saw one guard which Rudi hadn't seen. He could be taken out quickly and then once inside they just had to find the commandant. The door burst open and Hans jumped up but couldn't reach his gun before one was pushed against his head.  
  
"What…what the hell do you want, who are you?"  
  
"We are looking for our friend, Ardeth Bay, we know he was here" said Rick.  
  
"He is not here any more, he has gone"  
  
"Where is he?"  
  
The man tried to struggle against the two men holding him and one of them went to hit him but Samuel stopped him.  
  
"No, now we hear that you helped this man, so start talking"  
  
Hans was pushed into a chair and told them everything he knew. Rick was fuming at what had happened to his friend.  
  
"You bastard, you let them do that to him, what sort of animal are you?"  
  
"I didn't know about it, I was in Berlin, he was not supposed to be touched because of his tattoos. When I came back and found him being beaten, I had him brought up here where I had a doctor look at him and then I got him well again. I was not responsible for the beatings. He was to be taken to Treblinka for the commandant there to make.."  
  
"To make what?" asked Rick grabbing his throat.  
  
"To make lampshades. He has a thing about people with tattoos, that is why Ardeth wasn't to be hurt"  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that this bastard was going to make lampshades out of Ardeth. No…that is sick"  
  
They had let Hans go and he was allowed to pour them all a drink, Rudi stood by the door so that no one could come in.  
  
"I am afraid it is true. I knew this and somehow Ardeth had found out about this. I managed to get him papers, documents and a gun and when he was put in the carriage apart from the rest of the prisoners, he had the opportunity to escape. I gave him that chance. I am not an animal like the rest. If they find out what I have done I will be shot the same as anyone else"  
  
"So why are you being replaced?" asked Samuel.  
  
"Because I am not an animal, they want someone here who is, someone who can beat and torture the prisoners. I am to take a desk job in Berlin, which will please my wife. But if you have found out that I helped Ardeth, then others will know. I am a dead man"  
  
"Right you will tell us where he was to escape from and how"  
  
Hans showed them on a map where the train was to stop and where he had told Ardeth to get off before being seen. He was very helpful and hoped that they found their friend before he was hurt again.  
  
"If they capture him and find out he was from here, they will torture him and then shoot him. He will never get to Treblinka a second time."  
  
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, one of the other guards was there. Samuel told Hans to answer it, they hid in the room, he behind the door with a gun on Hans. The man opened the door and took a cable off the guard who saluted and went away again. There was no need for him to stay once the message had been given to the commandant. Hans opened it and after reading it, sat down on the chair.  
  
"What does it say?" asked Rick.  
  
Samuel took it from the mans hands when he did not answer.  
  
"It says he is to be arrested and taken to Berlin where he will be tried for treason against the Third Reich. They know about Ardeth, he escaped from the train on the way to Treblinka and they have guessed that he was helped. When will they be here?"  
  
"Probably tomorrow" said Hans.  
  
"Why not arrest you now, why warn you?"  
  
"They like to make you squirm, they know I cannot leave here, the guards will have been told to make sure I don't leave my quarters. It also means you will now have a problem getting out of here"  
  
"Make yourself useful, open another bottle of vodka, I want a word with my friends"  
  
Hans went over to the locker and brought out a bottle of vodka and undoing it, poured it out. He almost wished that they would kill him, then he could avoid the humiliation of being tried in front of his wife.  
  
"I say we take him with us. He didn't need to help Ardeth but he did and if he did, Ardeth wouldn't want him to die for it. I know him, he is not that sort of person" said Rick.  
  
"But can we trust him?" asked Rudi.  
  
"I think so" replied Samuel "he knows we will kill him if he tries anything"  
  
He turned to Hans and told him what they were going to do. The man wasn't sure, with him with them, they could have problems.  
  
"Ardeth wouldn't have wanted us to leave you knowing you would be shot for helping him. You're coming, now let's get out of here" said Rick.  
  
They went down the stairs and looked out of the door carefully. There were two guards outside by the outer door, they would have to be dealt with. Rudi and Samuel crept up behind them and knocked them out and dragged them into the side room after tying them up.  
  
Outside they found that there were no more guards at the moment but no doubt there would be later. Going out the way they had come, they were soon back at the secret house. Now they would have to make their way to Ostrava and pick up the trail of Ardeth, assuming he escaped okay.  
  
Ardeth made it out of the woods and across country, even with all the snow. It was now almost the end of December and the winter had really set in. the snow was deep and almost continual in falling, which helped him really in the fact it covered his footprints if there were anyone following. By the time he reached a place called Ruzomberok, in Slovakia, he was weak with cold and lack of food. He saw a barn next to a farmhouse and made it inside before collapsing in the straw.  
  
In the farmhouse lived an old man and woman, who tried to keep themselves to themselves, they didn't agree with what was going on in Germany and certainly didn't belong to the Nazi party. They had lost several friends from around their area because they refused to do what they were told. However, the Germans left them alone because they supplied milk from their cows to the nearby garrison.  
  
"I am going to lock up the barn and then I think we will go to bed. It is going to be a cold night" said Erik to his wife.  
  
"Okay, I will heat up the milk for a bedtime drink" she replied.  
  
Putting on his coat, he went out to the barn to check on his cows and lock the doors. There were wild animals in the woods nearby and they would love to get a free meal from his cows. Pushing the door open to go in, he gasped as he saw a man laying in the straw. Hurrying over to him, he turned him over and felt his pulse. He was alive but wet and cold and he was very thin. He also saw that he was a foreigner by his features. Putting the mans arm round his neck, he lifted him up and managed to get him back to the farmhouse and kicked the door.  
  
"Erik, what are you doing, can't you…oh my God…who is he?"  
  
"I don't know, help me, he is heavy. I found him in the barn, must have gone in and collapsed"  
  
"Take him in there and lay him on the spare bed. I will get some hot water and one of your nightshirts" said Maria.  
  
Half an hour later, they had taken his wet clothes off and cleaned him up. He was tucked up in a warm bed with a fire that Erik had stoked up. Maria was bathing his head with a cloth, he still hadn't come round.  
  
"You go to bed Erik, I will sit with him. You have to be up early in the morning. I will be alright, he is in not fit state to do anything and I don't think he would anyway. I wonder who he is"  
  
"His name is Ardeth Bay, he is Egyptian" replied Erik looking at the papers in his wet clothes. "Well, he is not German not Jewish, I wonder what he is doing out here"  
  
"Well whatever it is, he has been out in this snow and cold for a while and hasn't eaten either. Must have escaped from somewhere. He will be safe here until he is well again" she said.  
  
It was the middle of the night when he finally woke up and wondered where he was. A gentle voice told him to lay still and he felt water being put against his mouth which he drank.  
  
"Careful, not too quickly. That's it" said the voice.  
  
Laying back down, he focused his eyes in the dim light and saw a kindly old lady sitting next to him on a chair. She got up and went to the fire and poured some broth into a bowl and came back to the man in the bed.  
  
"Here, try and take some of this, it will warm you up. How do you feel now?"  
  
"I'm not sure" he said "Where am I?"  
  
"At a farmhouse near Ruzomberok. My husband found you unconscious in the barn and brought you in here. How long have you been out in this weather?"  
  
"About a week, I escaped from the train going to Treblinka. I have to get back to Egypt" he said trying to get up.  
  
"You are not going anywhere. You would collapse before you reached the door. You need food and rest. You are welcome to stay here for as long as you want. Now try and get some sleep"  
  
She walked to the door and leaving it open a bit, turned the oil lamp right down and left him with just the glow of the fire blazing in the grate. She told him to call her if he needed anything. He smiled weakly and pulled the covers up round his neck. It was so cozy in there that he didn't want to move anyway. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but visions of what he had seen over the past few weeks invaded his dreams, so much so that he ended up tossing and turning.  
  
Chapter Eight  
  
Einsatzgruppen  
  
Maria had got up to check on the man and although found him asleep, he was tossing and turning, beads of sweat lined his brow. She got a cold cloth and wiping his face, was going to try and wake him. But suddenly he woke with a start and she grabbed his shoulders to calm him down.  
  
"Shh, it's okay, you're safe here. Lay down and rest Ardeth"  
  
"Dreaming…they shot him…have to tell…where am I?"  
  
Looking at her, he remembered the night before and apologized as he lay back on the pillow. She gave him a drink and wiped his forehead, smiling down at him. She was an old lady, he would have said about seventy-five. He closed his eyes as sleep took him over and when she was sure he had settled, she went back to bed herself.  
  
The next morning found him up and dressed when she went into the room, he heard her and turning bowed his head in greeting.  
  
"You're up" she said "How are you feeling this morning?"  
  
"A lot better than I was last night I think. Thank you"  
  
"You gave us a fright, finding you in our barn unconscious. What happened to you?"  
  
He told her of the events that had led to him being in her house. She listened while dishing out some porridge and handing it too him as he sat at the table. He ate it all and had some more. He was very hungry, it had been about three days since he had eaten and what with the snow and cold, it had taken it's toll on him. It hadn't been that long since he had been beaten by the guards and he was still having trouble with the injuries.  
  
"I cannot stay here long" he replied "I have to get back to Egypt."  
  
"You must get your strength back, you won't last long out there unless you do. Which way were you heading?"  
  
"Back the way we came, through Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, then I will take a ship back to Egypt."  
  
"You are about 250 miles from the Romania border. But they are allies of the Germans, you will have to be careful. There are groups of soldiers and some small garrisons on the way there. If you don't know your way, you will run into them. They do not take prisoners"  
  
"I will take my chances" said Ardeth drinking some coffee.  
  
"Ardeth" said Erik coming in, he had been listening "Our son will be back tomorrow, he has been out hunting for food. He will take you to the Romanian border, along the border between Hungary and the Ukraine. It is the quickest and probably the safest"  
  
"But I can't ask him to do that, it will put his life in danger too. I have been the cause of one mans death on this trip, and put a girls life in danger, I will not do it again"  
  
"Talk to him, at least when he returns. You need to rest and eat, there is plenty of food here. You are very welcome, you can tell me about Egypt" said Erik.  
  
By the next night, Ardeth had been persuaded to allow Eriks son, Josef to take him to Romania. He had been a soldier but had been invalided out of the army three years ago. They had food packed by Maria and Ardeth had been given a fur coat that belonged to Erik.  
  
"It will keep you warm. I have another, don't worry. Now, one day, you let me know that you got back safe to Egypt. I will pray for you my son" said Maria.  
  
He took out the jeweled knife that Alex had given him. Somehow he had managed to get it back off Hans before he left Theresienstadt and he gave it to her.  
  
"Take this, you can sell it after the war is over. Think of me when you use it" he said.  
  
Ardeth hugged her tight, he had never met a woman like her before, so strong, just like a Med-jai he thought. He promised he would let her know. Then shaking the hand of Erik, he left with Josef on the journey to Romania.  
  
Rick and the others had reached Ostrava, or at least just outside. They had been careful and had avoided most of the soldiers that were patrolling. After making enquiries discreetly, they found out that Ardeth had last been seen a week ago.  
  
"We seem to be a week behind him all the way" said Rick "I wish we could catch up with him"  
  
"We'll find him" said Samuel "He won't be walking all the time, sooner or later we'll catch up with him. Don't worry"  
  
"I can't help it, if it wasn't for me he would still be in Egypt. We have gone through so much together, you would never believe half of it. Then he ends up dying out here"  
  
Samuel got annoyed with Rick then and told him that he wasn't dead yet, at least they had no evidence of that. So all they could do was try and find him. About three miles from a place called Cadca, they bedded down in an old ruined stable. It was still cold but at least they were dry and could make a fire to have hot food and drink.  
  
As they sat round the fire, they talked. Hans told them of his family in Berlin and how he hated what was going on as did a lot of people in Germany but were powerless to do anything.  
  
"Why doesn't someone just get a gun and shoot this Hitler?" asked Rick.  
  
"People have thought about it but no-one can get close to him. He has too many bodyguards and anyone found to be against him or even trying to kill him, are hanged. This happened to several men not so long ago. An attempt was made on his life, he survived but they didn't"  
  
"Rick, tell us about you and Ardeth. You said we wouldn't believe what you two had been through together" said Rudi.  
  
Rick laid back on his bed roll and told them about Hamunaptra and Ahm Shere. He guessed they would think him mad and that it was a fairy tale. But none of them were laughing. He showed them his tattoos on his hand and arm.  
  
"So this mummy actually came back to life?" asked Samuel.  
  
"Yes, I know it is incredible but it is all true, I swear" replied Rick.  
  
"I have heard about this Hamunaptra" replied Hans "So has Hitler, mainly because of the gold inside. He wanted someone to find it about five years ago but no-one ever did. But we did hear stories about a reincarnated mummy that had terrorized Cairo and was destroyed by a tribe of Bedouin"  
  
"Well they are Med-jai actually and yes the stories you heard were true. Now shall we get some sleep if we are to leave early in the morning"  
  
  
  
Ardeth and Josef had reached the border of Romania as safely as they could have done. Josef was good, he knew all the routes that avoided all the dangerous areas. Josef was heading straight back to his fathers farmhouse but would probably do some hunting on the way.  
  
"You take care, if you follow the route I set out for you, it will take you to the monastery where this Father Shandor is. You say he will help you?"  
  
"Yes, he was a good friend when we arrived here and put us in touch with this man Samuel. Thank you for all you have done. Allah human-eh" he said as the man headed back.  
  
Josef left him and Ardeth, taking a deep breath walked across the old bridge that connected with a track that led to a small place called Satu Mare. From there he was to travel south for about 200 miles and would be at the monastery. It was getting dark, so he decided to head for the woods that were the start of the Carpathian mountains and forests.  
  
He hadn't been walking long when a blizzard started, totally out of the blue and he had to find shelter quickly. The only place he could find out there, was a tight clump of small trees that provided a shield against the snow. When it stopped he would carry on.  
  
Trouble was, when it did stop a few hours later and he ventured out from the small trees, he had no idea what direction to go in. He thought he had made a note of which direction south was before he had sheltered but everything looked different after the blizzard. Looking around, he thought he recognized a very large tree to his right and remembered seeing it earlier, which meant that was south.  
  
He had been walking for about six hours and was exhausted. It wasn't easy walking in deep snow especially when it was below zero. As he rounded a bend in the trees, he found a little hut by the side of a track road. It looked like a place where travelers could worship some sort of statue. There was a lady in blue and white, with her hands outstretched. He had seen the same in other places on his journey. He looked at the map.  
  
The only place like this that was marked, was a place called the Borgo Pass, which was east of where he had been, not south. He was miles out of his way. The track split into three so he went down what he thought was the southern route. Suddenly clicks of rifles made him stop in his tracks.  
  
"Halt, hands above your head" said a voice  
  
Raising his hands, he slowly turned round to find himself face to face with a group of about four German soldiers. His heart fell, wondering what they were going to do with him. They were called the Einsatzgruppen and were renowned for torture tactics on prisoners  
  
"Search him" ordered the officer to one of the men.  
  
They found a pistol and knife, plus the identity papers that he carried and he handed them to the officer. He looked through them as he walked up and down. Then he walked over to Ardeth.  
  
"So, Ardeth Bay, we have a nice little place for you. Our headquarters are about half a mile from here. The commanding officer is a doctor, he likes new recruits for his experiments. To see what makes the different people in the world and to find out what their pain threshold is. He will be pleased with you, my friend"  
  
"I am not your friend" hissed Ardeth.  
  
The man went to hit him with his pistol but thought better of it and smiled as he told him to get moving, pushing him along with the barrel of the gun. Experiments, thought Ardeth, he wondered what he was in for and what pain he was going to suffer at the hands of these men. He had been injured twice since coming to Germany and his pain threshold wasn't very high at the moment, nor his strength. They arrived at a small group of buildings, set in the middle of a thick wood, with a mountain behind it. He was bundled into one of the smaller buildings and the door locked behind him. He sat crossed legged in the corner and waited to see what was going to happen. He didn't have long to wait.  
  
Two guards came and took him into another part of the building where he met the commanding officer, who told him what he was going to do.  
  
"These experiments are for the good of the Reich you understand. I have four people helping us with these but one of them looks like he will be dead by the morning. You will replace him and as you are from Egypt, we should have some exciting results. Now take off all your clothes, you can do this yourself or someone will help you"  
  
Seeing the guards standing there with rifles, Ardeth decided he had better do as he was told if he was to live a little longer. He looked around as he undressed, there were bottles on the shelves with what looked like eyes in them. all different colors, and on another shelf, internal organs. When he had finished undressing, he turned to the man, his hands covering his private parts. The officer walked round him and looked at the tattoos that adorned his body.  
  
"You will tell me about these before we start. Private, get a notebook out and write down everything that he tells you and exactly where each tattoo is"  
  
Ardeth refused to speak but then a rifle was clicked and shoved into his neck, so he thought better of it and told them what them wanted to know. This exercise took about an hour, by which time he was really cold standing there naked.  
  
The officer put the notebook on his desk and then told the guards to take him outside to the table, which was in the middle of the small courtyard. There were three other tables out there, two of which had naked men tied to them. surely that wasn't what they were going to do that to him.  
  
But they were, he was pushed onto the table, in the snow that was already on there, he gasped at the coldness of it. Then his hands and feet were tied to the legs of the table, his whole body exposed to the elements. The air froze him within minutes of being there. He was laying next to another man on the other table, who looked at him as he was tied down. When the guards disappeared.  
  
"How...long…have you…been here?" he asked the man.  
  
"This is my third day…I am dying…because I can't feel the cold any more" he said.  
  
By the third hour, Ardeth was losing consciousness, hyperthermia was setting in, his body had stopped shaking now and was still. Then he heard the door open, dimly in the distance and hands untied him and he felt himself lifted and carried inside the building. Then he was laid in a warm bath, where for the next three hours the temperature was raised to normal. But as soon as he was warm, he was taken outside again for the whole process to start again. This time he saw that the man on the other table was being put in a cart, he was dead.  
  
He had to endure this treatment for what he guessed was a whole day, by the end of which, he had no idea where he was or had any control of his body at all. Then he was thrown in a small room and left, with no blankets or anything, not even food. A dirty bucket was in there, with a rusty mug next to it for drinking. It tasted disgusting but he was in need of water so had no choice. He remembered no more till the next day when he was dragged out of the room by the guards.  
  
"You provided some good results yesterday, so we are going to try something else this morning. Take him to the vat room"  
  
He was taken into a room where there were more tables but also two big baths, with lids on. One of the guards, undid the catches and the lid was taken off. The bath was full of warm water and Ardeth was told to get in. at least it wasn't cold this time. Then the lid was put back on, so that only his head was showing and the catches fastened.  
  
It was then he noticed the pipes going from the bath next to his to a boiler by the wall. The guard turned the boiler on and then sat down in the chair with a newspaper. As Ardeth laid in the water, which was up to his neck, he felt it getting hotter. He suddenly realized that they were heating the water up, slowly.  
  
Within a couple of hours, he was sweating with the heat from the water, it was so hot and getting hotter.  
  
"Please, let me out of here, it is too hot" he gasped.  
  
"You should be used to the heat" said the guard. "You will stay there"  
  
The guard had orders that as soon as the temperature had reached a certain level, that he was to watch the man to see how long it took for him to pass out. He was then to get him out of there and onto the table to cool down. Then start it all over again.  
  
It didn't take long before Ardeth felt himself blacking out, the heat becoming too much even for him. When he came round, he was tied to a table, his skin cold and clammy. He was given a glass of water and then put back in the bath, in warm water and the whole process continued till he passed out again.  
  
For three days this went on, one day in the bath, the next in the snow. By the end of the third day, Ardeth was totally unconscious and didn't come round. He was left in the small room, until he did come round, if at all. His last coherent thought had been a prayer to Allah to release him from this.  
  
The four men searching for Ardeth had reached the border where Slovakia, Hungary and the Ukraine met. They heard a noise in the forest up ahead of them and creeping along, they saw a man trapping a large hare. He didn't look like a soldier but they had to be careful, on the other hand he might have seen something. He froze when he saw the men come out of the trees but didn't attempt to run or pull a gun on them.  
  
"Who are you, what do you want?" he asked.  
  
"We are friends, I hope. We are looking for someone, have you seen anyone wandering around here alone?" asked Samuel.  
  
"What sort of someone, I see a lot of people when I am hunting food"  
  
"A man, about my height, dark hair, tattoos on his face" said Rick.  
  
"Why are you looking for him, what's he done?"  
  
"Nothing, he is a friend, we are trying to find him to take him home. He could be in trouble"  
  
"Is his name Ardeth Bay?" asked the man.  
  
Rick looked relieved and grabbed the mans shoulders.  
  
"You've seen him, where, please tell me"  
  
"Yes I know of him, I helped him to get to the Romanian border about five days ago. We found him at our farm, he was cold and hungry and looked like he had been badly hurt at some point. But he wouldn't stay, said he had to get to Egypt. So I helped him as far as I could"  
  
"At least he is still alive" said Rick.  
  
The sound of rumbling noises made them head to the trees as they saw up on the road that wound round the mountain, a convoy of tanks. The man, who told them his name was Josef, showed them where he had a small camp, right in the middle of the trees, not far from where they had been. It was well hidden and he told them to sit and have coffee with him. It wasn't very nice but it was hot.  
  
"We know he had been beaten not long ago but do you know where he was going. We have to find him"  
  
"He said something about a Father Shandor, he was heading there. He could be there already for all I know. He was heading in the right direction. I told him to watch out for soldiers as Romania is a German ally. He was still weak but he was determined to get there"  
  
"That sounds like Ardeth. Stubborn as the day he was born" said Rick.  
  
After the coffee, they thanked the man and continued on the way. He showed them on the map where he had left Ardeth and which route he had told him to take. They could be there within a few days.  
  
"Tell him to let my mother know he is safe. He promised her. She seemed to have taken to your friend which she doesn't do very easily. Something she never told him"  
  
He took out a photo from his wallet and showed them. On it was an old couple and two men. One of them they recognized as Josef but the other man. It could have been Ardeths brother. He had the same long hair and although he didn't have the tattoos, he had the same features. Rick realized why the woman had taken to him.  
  
"Who is this man?" asked Hans.  
  
"He was my brother, he was killed in an air raid about a year ago, in Prague. Your friend Ardeth looks like him in many ways, my mother certainly thought so. He gave her a jeweled knife before he left, told her to sell it after the war. But tell him she won't, she will treasure it as though her own son gave it too her"  
  
They shook hands and Rick promised that they would be in touch, taking their address and details of how to find them. Then with a wave they were gone.  
  
Chapter Nine  
  
The Rescue  
  
The officer went into the building and looked at Ardeth laying on the floor, still unconscious. He hadn't come round from the last lot of heat treatment.  
  
"Is he still alive?" asked the officer.  
  
"He is but I don't know how. He has been outside and in the tub for three days and now he hasn't come round at all. He should be dead but I don't think he will live much longer" replied the guard.  
  
"Okay, leave him for a bit longer and then bring him to me, whether he is unconscious or not"  
  
An hour later, Ardeth was dragged into the room where the officer was and he looked at the man, who was almost dead but somehow hanging on and decided that he would give him one more lot of cold treatment. They were ordered to take him outside and put him on the table in the courtyard. It was snowing hard and even colder than the last few days.  
  
"It is 9am, leave him there till 5pm tonight, if he is still alive" said the officer.  
  
This the guards did and although not fully conscious, Ardeth was moaning in a half comatose state. They checked the ropes and left him there, glad to get inside again in the warm.  
  
A few miles away, Father Shandor was out with some of the monks. In the last few weeks he had been more of a soldier of war than of God. Between them they had killed quite a few Germans and Romanians, who they found torturing farmers and local people. The Father was convinced that God would not be angry with what they were doing, at the end of the day they were saving these people from death at the hands of animals.  
  
He had a few monks that wandered round the countryside, looking out for victims of this regime and if necessary, report back to the Father and then decide what they were going to do about it. One night, a monk named Father Peter came back to the monastery and knocked on Father Shandors office door.  
  
"Yes Father Peter, what have you found out?"  
  
"There is a small garrison building near the Borgo Pass. Witnesses have seen the soldiers there tying men to tables outside in the cold weather and leaving them there for hours at a time. Then they disappear and later are put back out there. Several of the local men have been taken there and none have returned"  
  
"Okay, how many soldiers are there do you know?"  
  
"They say only about four with a man in charge. Most of them have been sent somewhere else. I think they are enjoying the power Father"  
  
"Well they won't be enjoying it much longer, how long will it take us to get there?"  
  
"I would say about twenty-four hours if we travel at night"  
  
Father Shandor told him to get everything ready for their journey and make sure they had plenty of ammunition. Then he went into the chapel to pray for guidance on this latest mission to save the children from the tyrants.  
  
When they arrived near the buildings that housed these soldiers, three of the monks followed two of the guards who were walking into the forest. Probably looking for new victims to take back to the place where they were torturing people.  
  
They could see through the wire that surrounded the place, four tables in a small courtyard on which was one man tied. Cutting the wire they silently made their way across to the buildings. If the people were right, there were only three men left in the place, two guards and an officer.  
  
Father Shandor was going to take the officer himself and sent three of his monks to find the other guards. When they were in position, he raised his hand and they walked in, guns raised. The officer jumped to his feet ready to call for the guards, when he heard shots and the Father smiled at him.  
  
"Seems you are the only one left. Now what shall we do with you. I haven't decided yet"  
  
"You'll never get away with this, my men will find you and kill you. Father or no Father" hissed the officer.  
  
"I think not, you will be dead by the time we leave here, no-one will know who did it"  
  
One of the other monks came in and told the Father that the two guards were dead and that they were just waiting for the others to come back from the forest.  
  
"Search the buildings, find out who is here and if they are alive or not"  
  
Just then the other monks came back and told him that the bodies of the other two guards were now laying in the courtyard. He told them to bury them, no need to just leave them there to rot, they weren't that inhuman. Suddenly Peter came running in and told Father Shandor that he had better get into the smaller building, they had found someone.  
  
"Who, who have you found?" he asked.  
  
"I think you'd better look for yourself"  
  
Father Shandor ran with him to the other building while his fellow monks kept the officer under guard. He gasped when he ran through the door. Laying on the floor, naked was Ardeth Bay. Running to his side, he felt his pulse and although very weak, he was still alive.  
  
"Bloody hell, quick find some blankets, lots of them and wrap this man in them and then make up a stretcher or find something we can use. We have to get him back to the monastery"  
  
Peter looked shocked at first, he had never heard Father Shandor swear before and it took him by surprise. He ran to find the things that was asked for and came back a few minutes later. With the help of two of the other monks, they laid three blankets on the floor and then lifted Ardeth onto them, then they wrapped him up in them and lifted him onto the stretcher that they found in the medical room.  
  
With more blankets on top, the took him into the big building where Father Shandor was standing with a gun aimed at the officer. He told them to put him down on the floor, he was nearly ready for them to leave.  
  
"I apologize to my fellow monks because I don't normally swear but you are murderous bastard and I am going to take great pleasure in killing you. This man is a good friend and before I use this gun on you, I want to know what you have done to him"  
  
"Does it matter, he will be dead soon and so will I" said the officer smirking.  
  
"Is that so" replied the Father firing the gun at the mans leg.  
  
He screamed in pain as he fell to the ground grasping his leg. The Father dragged him by his collar outside and dumped him in the snow, blood from the wound coloring the snow. He was going to shot him again in the other leg but Peter stopped him.  
  
"NO, don't, this will make you as bad as he is. None of them are worth it. We'll deal with him, go inside to Ardeth, he needs you, badly"  
  
"But look what he has done to the man, to all of them, he is the only one alive"  
  
"Yes he is alive, only just maybe and we don't know if he will live, but you will regret torturing this man just for revenge. That is not what we are here for."  
  
"You are right my son. Do what you have to" replied Father Shandor as he walked back into the building.  
  
"Thank you" said the officer "I knew one of you would allow me to live"  
  
"You have got it all wrong, I stopped him from torturing you, I am going to kill you" said Peter raising the gun.  
  
He fired two shots into the mans head, he died instantly. Peter said a prayer and then put the gun in his pocket, leaving the other monks to bury the man. Walking back into the building, he found the Father kneeling beside Ardeth.  
  
"He is in a very bad way. His skin is blue with the cold, it will be a miracle if he ever wakes up"  
  
"Father, look at these books, it explains what they have been doing. Here is Ardeths name and details of all the experiments they have carried out on him since he arrived here"  
  
The Father took it and sat down to read it, then he closed it and put it in his robes.  
  
"He has been through hell, now we must get him back to the monastery as quickly as possible. Let's go"  
  
The monks took it in turn to carry Ardeth, who was still unconscious. They didn't even stop to rest, it was imperative that they got back as soon as possible. Even with a blizzard that sprung up, they just covered the man totally with another blanket and carried on, reaching the safety of the place by the next afternoon. They were all exhausted but they carried Ardeth into the warmest part of the monastery and ran a bath of warm water into which they laid him.  
  
As soon as they saw that some of the colour was coming back to his skin and that the blue was going, they took him out, dried him and put into a bed which had been brought in especially. The bed had been put in front of the roaring fire and Father Shandor sat beside him, trying to spoon small amounts of broth into him.  
  
Peter came in with some concoction that smelled vile but had been mixed by the medical monks to try and heal any infections that may be inside his body. The Father felt his pulse and although still weak, it did seem a little stronger than when he first found him.  
  
Pulling the covers up close to Ardeths chin, he sat in the big rocking chair next to the bed and ate some food himself. He was taking the first watch, he had ordered that Ardeth was not to be left alone for a second until he was better. He didn't know how long that would be, not did he know how long it would take before the man even came round.  
  
He wasn't stupid, he knew full well that Ardeth could still die from what they had done to him, the cold and hot treatments were ancient tortures from the olden days when people were tortured for treason. Very few ever survived and those that did were never the same again. It damaged internal organs and affected their minds. He just prayed that Ardeth might just be one of the lucky ones.  
  
By the next evening, it was clear that Ardeth had a raging fever, his temperature was well over 104 and it was a constant task bathing him with cold cloths to try and keep it from going any higher. He still hadn't woken up but he was becoming delirious, tossing and turning with the fever. For another three days they waited for a sign that he was responding, bathing, praying and just sitting with him, but so far nothing.  
  
On the fourth day, while Father Shandor was sitting with him, Peter came in to say that there were some people at the gate of the monastery and that he was to come.  
  
"Who is it do you know?" asked the Father.  
  
He was worried that one day the Germans would find out who had been killing their troops and saving the local people.  
  
"It is Samuel Weiss and he has a German with him and someone called Rick O'Connell. They are looking for Ardeth"  
  
The Father got up quickly and telling Peter not to leave Ardeths side, he rushed off to find these men. They had been taken to the kitchens and given hot food and drink.  
  
"Samuel, my friend, I am so glad you are here" he said rushing in.  
  
"Father Shandor, I am glad to be here at last. This is Rick O'Connell and Hans Otto, a deserter from the German Army. Is Ardeth here?"  
  
"Yes my friends he is" the man replied shaking them by the hands.  
  
"Thank God, where is he?" asked Rick.  
  
"Please sit down. I have something to tell you"  
  
"Can't it wait, I want to see my friend" protested Rick.  
  
The Father put a hand on his shoulder and told him to sit down.  
  
"Father what is it, what has happened to him?"  
  
"Is he dead?" asked Rick.  
  
"No, at least not yet"  
  
"What the hell do you mean not yet, take me to him, I want to see him" yelled Rick  
  
Samuel calmed him down and pushed him down into the chair, he knew there was a good reason why the Father wouldn't take them to see him yet.  
  
Father Shandor sat down at the end of the table and told them how he had come to find Ardeth at the Borgo Pass. He left nothing out, then pulling the bell rope to summon one of the other monks, he poured out some coffee.  
  
"Brother John please bring me the book that we took from the officer at the Borgo Pass"  
  
The man nodded and left, returning within a few minutes with a large notebook. The Father opened it at the pages where Ardeths name appeared and put it in front of Rick and Samuel.  
  
"That will explain to you what he was put through at this place"  
  
He waited till they had finished and then continued.  
  
"When we found him, he was naked and unconscious, his skin was blue with the cold, he was thin from lack of food. We wrapped him in blankets and brought him here as quickly as we could. Slowly, very slowly the color returned to his skin, but he remains unconscious. That was four days ago from the time we found him. Now he has a raging temperature of 104, he is delirious and shows no signs of coming round or the fever breaking. We do not have great medical knowledge here, we can only do what we can, the rest is up to him and God"  
  
"Jesus Christ" said Rick then "Sorry Father but is there nothing we can do?"  
  
"Only wait, try and keep the temperature from rising any more and see what happens. I must warn you, even if he does wake up, we have no idea what damage has been done by these experiments, mentally or physically, especially inside. Now I will take you to him. But please, only stay for a few minutes at the moment. You are in need of sleep, you will be of no use to him otherwise. Tomorrow is another day"  
  
They followed the man to the room where Ardeth was laying. Rick was shocked and sickened by what he saw. The friend he had known for all those years, who had fought so bravely at Ahm Shere now looked so thin and ill laying in the bed that his heart broke.  
  
He was still delirious and Peter was bathing his head continually. Rick went to sit down beside him. Father Shandor reminded him that they were to get some rest before he would allow him to stay with Ardeth.  
  
"I don not do this to be awkward, but if you were to fall asleep and he needed help, you understand. Whoever sits with him must be fully awake"  
  
"Of course" replied Rick "I don't like it but I understand. We are all tired, we have been walking for a long time to get here. But promise me, if there is any change, you will wake me immediately"  
  
Father Shandor promised he would and putting a hand on his shoulder, said he would show them where they could sleep. Food and drink would be brought to them and warm dry clothes. As they were shown into their rooms, Rick turned to the Father.  
  
"Thank you for this. I thought I would never see him again. He is the best friend I have ever had"  
  
"I understand Rick, please rest we will do everything that we can for Ardeth. I know you are not a religious man, he told me but if God wills it, he will live"  
  
Rick went in and closing the door, sat on the bed, his head in his hands, tears on his cheeks. If he could have got his hands on the men that did this, he would tear them limb from limb. Then for the first time in his life he prayed. He didn't know who to, the Fathers God, or Ardeths, or even the Gods of Egypt that Imhotep had worshipped, but he didn't care as long as one of them answered him and saved Ardeths life. He was even willing to sell his soul to the devil or whoever, if it would save his friend. When he had finished, he laid on the bed, without even taking his clothes off and fell asleep thinking about all the things they had been through together.  
  
It was about 3am when Peter came running to Father Shandors room and woke him up telling him he was needed urgently.  
  
"What is Peter?" he asked as he hurried to Ardeths room with him.  
  
"He can't seem to get his breath and has developed a cough in the last half hour" replied Peter.  
  
They ran into the room and Father Shandor saw that Ardeth was indeed gasping for breath every time he coughed. The man went over to the bed and called Brother John to help him.  
  
"Peter, go and get Rick now" he said. "John help me to sit him up"  
  
"Father, what is it?" shouted Rick as he ran in.  
  
"Rick, you wanted to help, go and sit on the other side of the bed and get yourself comfortable. Then let Ardeth lean against you. I think he has pneumonia, laying down will make it worse. That's it, get him in a position that makes his breathing easier"  
  
"Isn't there anything else we can do. Jesus, he is so hot…and thin"  
  
Father Shandor helped him get Ardeth as comfortable as he could. The breathing became a little easier and the coughing stopped for a while. He had told John to go and get some liniment which he had brought back. The Father took some and rubbed it over Ardeths chest and then getting Rick to lean him forward, put the same on his back.  
  
"I don't know if this will help but it is all we can do. John will help you keep him cool. I just wish we could bring this temperature down, once that comes down we are winning"  
  
"Come Ardeth, fight this. We have been through so much together, you have to fight it pal" whispered Rick as he held him.  
  
He was rewarded with a really bad coughing fit that had them scared for a few minutes. Then he settled down again with his head on Ricks shoulder. Father Shandor told him that he or one of the other monks would take over in a couple of hours while he ate something. There was no way you could stay in that position for long. Rick paced the floor after John had taken his place holding Ardeth.  
  
"What are we going to do. He doesn't seem to be responding to anything we do?"  
  
The Father said nothing but put a hand on Ricks shoulder as he took the coffee and sat by the fire to wait. That was all they could do, wait. But it would be a long wait, Ardeth wasn't coming out of this any time soon.  
  
Later that evening, his breathing eased enough to allow him to lay down for a while but they were there to sit him up again when he needed it, which they found was to be early in the morning again.  
  
It was even worse than before and this time Brother John brought a bowl of boiling water as close to him as he could, with menthol soaked in it. The steam was fanned towards Ardeth so that he could breath it in. It was a last ditch attempt to relieve the coughing. After a few minutes his breathing evened out and Rick just held him, praying that he would come round.  
  
Chapter Ten  
  
Back to Egypt  
  
It was another day before Rick noticed that Ardeths temperature had definitely gone down. He asked Peter to go and get Father Shandor, while he laid Ardeth down and made him more comfortable.  
  
"You sure it's gone down?" he said coming in.  
  
"Yes, he is a lot cooler than he was half and hour ago" replied Rick.  
  
Father Shandor went over and felt him and nodded his agreement. He called Brother John over to him.  
  
"I want fresh sheets on this bed and hot food and drink brought in. Tell the others that Ardeth is over the worst"  
  
"Do you think he is going to be alright now?" asked Rick watching Ardeth laying there.  
  
"Well, his temperature is definitely down, but we won't know about the pneumonia just yet. He isn't out of the woods yet"  
  
Later on they had made him more comfortable with clean sheets and Father Shandor had managed to get some medicine into him. But the longer it took for him to come round, the more he worried. There should have been some response by now, it had been a week.  
  
Rick and the others were getting some rest, Rick had got no sleep in the last thirty-six hours and he was exhausted. Father Shandor had been asleep and had returned to Ardeths beside. Samuel and Rudi had gone out with some of the monks to help them get some fresh meat. Hans had gone for a walk and now went into the room where Ardeth was.  
  
"Is there any change Father?" he asked.  
  
"No, not really, his breathing seems easier but it's this unconsciousness that is worrying me. You're a German, you must know what has been going on in these places. Is there anything you can tell me that might help. What exactly happens in these experiments?"  
  
"What we saw were the hypothermia and heat tests. They want to know how long someone can stand extreme cold and heat basically. You saw the notes in book, they would have put him in the snow, naked for a few hours at first and then for longer, until he passed out with the cold. Then he would have been taken inside and warmed up. The heat one is different, he would have been put in a bath that is connected to a heat source and then the water heated up until it would be almost boiling or until again he passed out. Then he would be cooled. They are horrendous tortures and most people would have died early in the experiments. How this man has survived I don't know"  
  
"I can't help it but these people are pure bastards, animals, how can they even be called human if they can do this to other people" said the Father.  
  
"Why do you think I helped him and deserted. If I am caught I will be shot for crimes against the Third Reich. I have heard things when I have been in Berlin. There are worse places that where we found your friend. Nothing is written down on paper but there are camps springing up all over the place, where whole families are being taken and then exterminated"  
  
Father Shandor had heard about these places but thought they were just rumor and Propaganda. But now he heard it first hand and he was disgusted with his fellow man, that they could even think about this let alone carry it out.  
  
"The thing is Father Shandor, I have seen what these experiments can do and it is not just the fact people die, if they survive it is the damage that these have done internally and mentally. No-one has made a survey of what damage has been done"  
  
A sound from behind them, made them turn round and they saw that Ardeth was, at last coming round. They rushed to his side and Father Shandor helped him take some water. Ardeth looked at them and then closed his eyes again. But at least he was only asleep this time.  
  
"Brother Peter go and wait for the others to come back and tell Rick that Ardeth has come round" he said.  
  
It was a couple of hours before Rick came back and he rushed to his friends room, to find the Father and Hans sitting by the fire and Ardeth asleep, with a bit more color in his face.  
  
"Is it true, he has come round?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, but only for a minute then he went back to sleep. Now all we have to do is make sure he eats and drinks and gets his strength back. I will wake him soon to get him to eat something. Will you sit with him while I see to some important matters?"  
  
Rick said he would and pulled a chair beside the bed and took his friends hand in his, it didn't seem so cold and clammy as it had and he hoped that it wouldn't take long for him to be up and about now that the worst was over. He was not to be more wrong.  
  
A week later, Ardeth was indeed out of bed and sitting in chair by the fire. He had been eating small amounts and drinking plenty of tea. The pneumonia seemed to be better and the cough had gone. All in all he seemed to be well on the road to recovery.  
  
But something wasn't right. He allowed Rick or Father Shandor to sit him in the chair and that is where he sat, watching the flames dance in the fireplace. He had said nothing, not a word since waking up and didn't seem to be aware of what was going on around him.  
  
"Ardeth, my friend don't you know me?" asked Rick kneeling in front of him.  
  
He had tried speaking to him so many times but he got nothing, not even a glimmer of interest.  
  
"What is wrong with him, there is no life in his eyes any more, he doesn't respond to anything. He accepts food and drink and then continues to watch the fire, or stare out of the window" said Rick.  
  
"I have no idea, I have tried also but have got nowhere. It seems he has lost the will to live apart from the fact he eats and drinks. I am at a loss" replied Father Shandor.  
  
He told him to stay with him and talk to him, try to snap him out of it if he could, but to do it gently. He would look through some of his books in the library and see if he could find anything but he doubted it.  
  
"Ardeth, remember Evy and Alex and that stupid brother of hers. They are going to be so glad that you are better. We have been through some tough times together, with ol' Imhotep and that Scorpion King. We came through it though, you have to come through this. I can't lose you as a friend, you mean to much to us. Even if you are one stubborn Med-jai commander, you are a good man. By the way, Evy admitted she loves you, told me just before we left. Always thought I was the only one she loved"  
  
He talked to him for a long time but he got nothing in return. He eventually poured himself out a coffee and sat in the chair opposite Ardeth and waited.  
  
Ardeth remembered being taken into the small building after passing out in the snow again and then nothing until he found himself in this warm place, with distant voices that he was sure he knew but couldn't recognize. It was like he was in a long tunnel, the more he tried to reach the end, the longer the tunnel became. In the end he stayed where he was, he couldn't run anymore, didn't want to. Knew if he reached the end of the tunnel, there would be heat or cold waiting for him again, he would be safer if he stayed there, in the tunnel, in the safety of his own darkness where no-one could find him.  
  
Father Shandor looked through all his books that might be a help in this case but found nothing. He got up and putting his coat on, he walked out of the room and into the inner courtyard, in the falling snow to think about what was the best thing to do for this man.  
  
He was frozen by the time he came in, two hours later but he had come to a decision and went straight to Ardeths room without even taking his coat off. Walking in, Rick and Hans jumped up and while poured him a hot drink, the other took his coat.  
  
"We saw you outside, you must be frozen, what were you doing out there, walking round and round" asked Hans.  
  
"Thinking about what we could do for Ardeth. My books came up with nothing so I went outside to think. I take it you have had no response from him at all"  
  
Rick shook his head and told him that all of them had talked to him and got nothing, not a thing to show that Ardeth even knew they were there. He had never been so scared in all his life.  
  
"I have come to the conclusion that the best thing we could do for Ardeth, is to take him back to Egypt. Being here is doing him no good at all. If he was in familiar surroundings, with people that loved him, maybe something would trigger a response"  
  
"Is he well enough to travel that far?" asked Rick.  
  
"Physically he seems a lot better but mentally, I am worried that if he stays here, he will never some out of this condition. If we plan it properly, take proper care of him on the way, there is no reason to assume he won't make it back to Egypt."  
  
"So you want me to take him back as soon as possible" said Rick.  
  
"No, we all go. Hans, me, Peter, Rudi and Samuel if they will come. We travel the way we came, down through Romania, take a ship back to Egypt. It would be the quickest and safest way"  
  
Rick asked him about going back to Austria and flying out but he said no, it would be too dangerous and too far. If they were to help Ardeth they had to get him back the quickest way and soon. He got one of the monks to arrange some transport that would get them through the snow and down to the port of Mangalia, they would get a ship and be back in Egypt within two weeks.  
  
By the next day they were more or less ready to go. All that was left to do was get Ardeth ready to travel. He allowed them to dress him in warm clothing and then be led outside, with help and into a carriage that was pulled by two horses. It was the only thing they had, any transport that ran on petrol had been confiscated by the Germans or destroyed.  
  
"Surely we are not traveling in this?" asked Rick.  
  
"It is perfect, old but quiet and needs no fuel, which we don't have anyway. I will ride with Samuel up front and you, Hans and Rudi stay in there with Ardeth. Make sure he drinks and eats, we will stop at intervals on the way but we will try not to stop totally until we get to a place called Tirgoviste, where we will change the horses and carry on"  
  
They agreed and got in the carriage and we off. Rick sat with his arm round Ardeth, making sure he didn't get bumped around too much. Ardeth laid his head on Ricks shoulder and slept for most of the journey.  
  
It took them nearly a week to get to the port, one because of avoiding soldiers and two, because of the weather. The snow was really blowing a blizzard by the time they reached Mangalia. They managed to get two rooms at a little place next to the docks. The old woman who ran the place normally only took people in the summer, even in war time but when they offered her a good deal of money she didn't say no. The ship wasn't leaving until dawn the next day and they couldn't go on board until an hour before it left. The snow had stopped for a while by the time the ship pulled out. Ardeth was laying down in one of the small cabins, if you could call them that. They were for the crew but for money, again it could buy anything at the moment. Rick stayed with his friend and the others shared another room next door. The ship was carrying oil and arms and made good speed, considering it had to keep a look out for submarines and other hostile ships, eventually arriving in Egypt about five days later.  
  
Father Shandor got some transport to take them to Cairo but had arranged something with Brother Peter a few hours before they docked.  
  
"Peter, I want you to take a horse and ride to Cairo as soon as we dock. Here is a letter for Evy from Rick and one my me. You will introduce yourself and then give her the letters. Tell her that she must obey to them to the letter, it is vital for Ardeth that she does this"  
  
"I will Father Shandor, you can rely on me. I can be in Cairo at least a few hours before you. Everything will be ready"  
  
Rick helped Ardeth into the car for the journey back to Cairo but even here there wasn't a glimmer of life in those eyes. He never showed any indication that he was even thinking about what was going on around him or recognized the people helping him. He just hoped that Evy, Alex or Jonathan would be able to get through to him. There was also Anna, how would he react when he saw her.  
  
Then a thought occurred to him, he would have to go to the Med-jai and see Masala and tell him all that had happened to his leader. That was a task he didn't relish in the slightest.  
  
Peter sped along on the horse towards Cairo, he loved riding and was thrilled to be galloping along the sand in Egypt. A country that he had always wanted to see and now he had that chance. He arrived in Cairo in no time and found the museum where he had been told Evy would be. He went to the man at the desk and asked if he could see her.  
  
"She is busy but I will ask her. Who shall I say it is?" he asked.  
  
"Tell her I have news of her husband" replied Peter.  
  
The man hurried off and Peter waited in the main hallway of the museum. He glanced around at the statues and relics when he heard footsteps running and coming closer.  
  
"I am Evy, you have news of Rick?"  
  
"Yes, can we talk in private?" he asked.  
  
"Please in here, Charles please bring in some coffee"  
  
She took him into the office and closed the door. He took from his pocket, the two letters and handed them to Evy, telling to read Ricks first and then Father Shandors. Taking them she sat down, telling him to sit as well just as Charles brought in the coffee. He left while she was still reading the letter, tears running down her face.  
  
Then she opened the letter from the Father and read that too. She took out a hankie when she had finished and looked at Peter.  
  
"I am sorry to bring you this bad news about Ardeth, Mrs O'Connell, but Rick wanted you to get a room ready for him and you were to stick to the instructions in Father Shandors letter."  
  
"Is Ardeth that ill?" she asked wiping her face.  
  
"Yes, we have done everything to bring him out of this depression, if that is what it is but we have failed. That is why we risked his health to bring him home to Egypt. We hoped that seeing you and your son might trigger something and bring him back to us"  
  
When they had finished their coffee, Evy took him to their house. Normally they would stay at the hotel but in the last few weeks she had reopened the place. There had been a bit of trouble at the hotel and she didn't want to be there anymore. It would mean that Rick would have to go about five miles out of his way but it would be better for Ardeth at the house.  
  
Anna met her as she arrived and taking her inside, she showed her the letters. Then taking her by the arms, she pulled her into a hug.  
  
"We will take care of him and love him. Then maybe he will soon be his old self"  
  
Peter helped her get the room ready and then they did everything that Father Shandor had asked of them. One of which was to get a doctor to examine Ardeth once he arrived to make sure he was better physically. He would arrive the next day, giving them time to get Ardeth settled in his room.  
  
Evy waited outside for the car to arrive and called Peter when she saw it coming down the drive. She waved and ran to meet it. Rick jumped out of the car and hugged her tight. He introduced Father Shandor, Rudi, Samuel and Hans before getting back into the car to get Ardeth.  
  
He helped him out and Evy gasped when she saw him, a shadow of the man she had waved too all those months ago. She was racked with guilt for making him go. Running to him she put her arms round him and kissed him on the cheek. Normally he would have made some comment about doing that in front of Rick and would have hugged her back. But this time, there was no response at all, not a sign that he even knew who she was.  
  
Rick let her lead him into the house and up to the room. Alex came running in when he heard the car and saw Ardeth but was stopped by Rick when he went to run after him.  
  
"No, not yet Alex. Come in here with me, I have to tell you something, you are old enough to know what has happened to our friend"  
  
He took Alex into the study and shut the door. Peter took the others into the big lounge where food had been prepared and they waited for either Rick or Evy to return. Rick and Alex came in first and after introducing his son to his friends, he went up to see Ardeth and Evy.  
  
She had taken off his clothes and got him into bed, he was asleep within minutes and she sat beside him, brushing his hair with her hand, tears running down her face. This wasn't the man she knew. His face was the same, the hair, the tattoos, the brown eyes but something was missing. There was no life in those eyes, no spark, the twinkle had gone. She couldn't imagine what he had gone through in Germany and it was all her fault.  
  
"Oh Rick, I have done this to him, if I had not wanted him to go with Karl, he would not be like this. What are we going to do?"  
  
"I don't know Evy, maybe being here will help him. I hope so, I miss the sarcastic comments he always made about me and the bravery, but most of all the friendship. We have been good friends over the years and I won't lose that, I won't. Somehow, we have to bring the old Ardeth back" replied Rick hugging her.  
  
"I'd even raise old Imhotep if that would bring him back to us" said Evy.  
  
"Do you know, I said the same thing one night in Romania. I have to go and see Masala tomorrow, he must be told about this. I will take Hans and Samuel with me. Don't be too hard on Hans, he is a good man when you get to know him. Not all Germans are the same"  
  
"What is he doing with you anyway?" she asked.  
  
"He will have to tell you that, but remember if it wasn't for him, Ardeth would be dead by now, I am sure of it"  
  
The doctor came and examined Ardeth but he could find nothing wrong with him really, he was going to be prone to infections and colds for a while, so they must guard against that. As for his mind.  
  
"It will take time, whatever has caused this, could be temporary or permenant, only time will tell. Talk to him, be with him, show him you care, that is all you can do. I will come back in a few days" he said.  
  
For two days, Evy, Anna and Alex took it in turns to sit with Ardeth, talking to him, reading to him. Evy even took him for a short walk around the garden at the back of the house. She had brought some plants from London and the rest came from Egypt, with a fountain and looked lovely. But that made no difference either.  
  
Rick had ridden out to see the Med-jai with Hans and Samuel, Father Shandor and Peter were helping Evy where they could and sat with Ardeth when the others couldn't. It didn't take long to find them and two of the scouts rode out to meet them and took them back to their camp.  
  
"Rick, good to see you, where is Ardeth?" asked Masala.  
  
Rick told him everything that had happened and wanted to know if he had any clues as to what they could do, but he had not. He suggested that if there had been no response after a couple of weeks, to bring him out to the camp. They were moving soon about twenty miles further north.  
  
"There is an oasis near there, very beautiful and peaceful. Let me know when you are coming and we will set up a small camp for Ardeth and whoever you want to bring with you. Anything is worth a try"  
  
"Will you come back with me Masala?" asked Rick.  
  
"Yes, I will return with you. Tomorrow is soon enough. Please come and join me and the others at the camp fire"  
  
When Masala saw Ardeth, he was shocked. He had never seen his leader look so ill or lost. He sat with him for a couple of hours and when he left, he put the tribal necklace round his neck, to replace the one that he had lost and said something to him in Hebrew, then left.  
  
He told Rick that he would get the camp ready regardless and that they could bring him out there when they were ready to.  
  
"Masala" called Evy "This won't mean Ardeth losing his position as Commander of the twelve tribes will it?"  
  
"No, he is leader till his death, I will just be in command while he is ill. As soon as it is possible for him to return to his duties, I will step back down"  
  
"The Med-jai couldn't be in better hands Masala" said Rick.  
  
"Thank you, I hope I live up to what Ardeth expects of me. Take care of him won't you"  
  
Ardeth felt something go round his neck, but he couldn't make out what it was and the tunnel was not getting any smaller. His mind screamed out to him to fight this thing but he didn't have the strength, not yet. He could hear voices in the background, talking but he couldn't hear them clearly and there were sensations on his hands but he felt nothing. It was like something was holding him back and no matter what he did, he couldn't get through it, to be able to reach that tunnel entrance.  
  
Chapter Eleven  
  
Jonathan  
  
Three months had gone by and things were trying to get back to some sort of normality. They had taken Ardeth out to the oasis but nothing seemed to bring him out of whatever depression he was in. He was up and about, but had still not spoke a word since the day he woke up.  
  
He got up in the morning, would read for a while, eat and then ride out on Jet, his big black horse for hours on end, alone and then come back, eat and sleep. After a week both Evy and Rick had to go back to Cairo. Evy had the museum to run and the government wanted Rick back at work. It wasn't that they had given up on him, just that they were talked out, they could spend the rest of their life trying to get through to their friend without any luck.  
  
Samuel, Rudi and Father Shandor had returned to Romania and Germany, they had other people that needed their help. They were promised that as soon as there was any news, Rick would get in touch. Hans had gone back with Rick and was helping the government with any information he could about what the Germans were doing.  
  
That left Masala, another four Med-jai and Alex at the oasis with Ardeth.  
  
Even Anna had returned with Father Shandor, she wasn't willing to wait on Ardeth remembering who she was. Her and Evy had had an almighty argument over it and Evy had told her that she was being selfish and couldn't have been in love with Ardeth if she was going to run out on him at the first sign of trouble. In the end she agreed and left.  
  
Physically, Ardeth was back to normal, he had put on weight, seemed fine but he still seemed locked inside himself and no-one could reach him. Masala was still leading the Med-jai and would carry on doing so until the day came, if it came, when Ardeth could resume his duties as leader.  
  
Jonathan was the only one who didn't know about him and that was because, about a month before they came back, he had decided to go out on some treasure seeking expedition and hadn't come back yet. Evy was so annoyed at him, she could have done with his help at the museum and of course, with Ardeth.  
  
He had gone down to Saccara and had found a tomb that, he assumed no-one had been in. he managed to find some gold statues and put them in his bag to take back to Cairo. Suddenly he found himself in the middle of a gun battle with three men who said the stuff belonged to them. He fled the area with the men on his tail.  
  
Knowing that they would follow him to Cairo, he decided to make a bee line for the Med-jai camp. Even if they had moved, it wouldn't be too hard to find it. They would be annoyed with him for raiding another tomb but at least they wouldn't let him get killed.  
  
Three scouts found him riding in the desert and took him back to their camp, where Abdul met him and welcomed him. He wasn't too pleased when he found out what was going on.  
  
"Jonathan, don't you ever learn. Okay you can stay with us, these men won't harm you here. Have you been back to Cairo yet?"  
  
"No, I came straight here. Suppose I would rather face you than Evy"  
  
"You don't know about Ardeth, he is back" replied Abdul.  
  
"No I didn't, that's great where is he, out on a trip?" he asked.  
  
"Come with me, sit by the fire, I have something to tell you"  
  
It sounded serious and Jonathan followed him and sat down with the drink he handed him. Then he told him all about Ardeth, what had happened, or at least all he had been told. Masala had omitted to tell anyone in the camp all the details of what had happened to their commander. How it had been three months and he still wasn't talking, everything. By the time he had finished, Jonathan looked shocked.  
  
"So where is he now, he is no better?" he asked.  
  
"He is at the oasis about twenty miles from here and no, he hasn't spoken since the day he came round. We are all so worried about him, we don't know if we will ever get our leader back" said Abdul, his voice breaking.  
  
"Please show me where the place is on the map and I will go and see him"  
  
Abdul looked up at the sky and suggested that he wait till the morning, it was getting dark and a storm was coming up. Storms out in the desert could be very harsh and very dangerous.  
  
"No, I can get there before the storm arrives. I have my horse, you said it was only twenty miles"  
  
"Very well Jonathan but I will show you a quicker way than across the desert. Look I will show you"  
  
He took the map from Jonathan and marked where the oasis was and showed him a route that would be easier.  
  
"Go about twelve miles north-east till you come to a volcanic crater and then turn left and go another few miles and you will arrive at the camp. You will be able to see the light from their fire when it is dark. I know I have used it to guide myself there a few times"  
  
"Volcanic crater, not Hamunaptra or any other lost city?" asked Jonathan cautiously.  
  
"No" laughed Abdul "No cities, this one is safe. You are sure you want to go tonight"  
  
"Yes, I want to see Ardeth and I won't sleep until I have so, yes I will be fine"  
  
"I will give you food and drink and could you also give a message to Masala for me?"  
  
"Of course, what is it?"  
  
He told him that he would be out there later the next day with some Med-jai business of some importance. Jonathan asked him why he didn't go with him but Abdul said he was waiting for some news from another camp further south first.  
  
Jonathan mounted the horse and taking the things that Abdul gave him, left in the direction that he told him. Behind him, lightening flashed in the distance, if he made good time, he would be there before the storm.  
  
By the next afternoon, Abdul arrived at the oasis with the papers for Masala. He seemed surprised to see him, he wasn't due there till the weekend.  
  
"I am surprised to see you so soon Abdul. I take it this is important" asked Masala.  
  
"Didn't Jonathan tell you I was coming?"  
  
"We have not seen Jonathan, why should he be here?"  
  
Abdul told him what had happened the night before and that Jonathan had left before the storm to come out to the oasis. Masala told him that he had never arrived.  
  
"We must go and look for him, he could be hurt somewhere, that was one storm last night. Which way did he come?"  
  
Abdul told him and Masala was about to get his horse and the other men and go out to find him when a hand was put on his shoulder. He turned to see Ardeth standing there.  
  
"Ardeth, go back and rest, we will see to this" he said.  
  
"No, I will go, alone" repied Ardeth.  
  
They stood there quite shocked, these were the first words they had heard him speak since he had arrived and certainly since he had been found in Romania.  
  
"But you are not well enough Ardeth, please we will do this"  
  
He tried to get the man to go back to his tent. But he shrugged off the hand and mounted his horse, holding out his hand to Masala.  
  
"Your sword Masala, do not come with me" he said.  
  
Masala handed him his sword and putting it in his belt, he turned the horse and left. Abdul was all for going with him but Masala said no, this could be the thing that brought their leader back.  
  
"Masala, you can't let him go out there alone" said Abdul "He might get hurt again"  
  
"I have to, he is still our leader, I have to do what he commands."  
  
Alex stood by the tent and watched Ardeth leave, he never said anything to him or the others.  
  
Jonathan had reached the volcanic crater when the storm arrived overheard, lightening and thunder crashed around him, causing his horse to rear up and throw him. He landed awkwardly and hit his head on one of the rocks and knocked himself out. When he came round, he was soaked with the rain, his head hurt and his horse had gone.  
  
Getting up and shaking off the dizziness, he found a dry place about twenty feet up the crater, he would have to stay there till the storm passed and then either make his way to the oasis on foot or wait till someone found him, which wouldn't be long if Abdul was going to the camp the next day. Luckily he had the food and drink in a bag round his neck, so he wouldn't starve at least.  
  
It was the middle of the afternoon before he saw a horse heading his way and seeing it was one of the Med-jai he waved and standing up, started to pick up his stuff, glad that they had come for him.  
  
"Thank God, I thought I was going to be stuck here for another night" he said.  
  
"You never cease to amaze me Jonathan, the scraps you get into" said the man.  
  
"I know, just a knack I have of…Ardeth…I thought you were ill, couldn't talk"  
  
Ardeth dismounted and walked past Jonathan and up the side of the crater, stopping when he got to the top and sat down, looking deep into the pit of the volcano. Jonathan got up and followed him, standing behind him, wondering what was going on. The man asked Jonathan to sit beside him and he told him what had happened to him up till the experiments.  
  
"I was taken to this building where I was subjected to their gross experiments. Some of the details, you do not need to know but I was tied to a table out in the snow and left there until the cold made me pass out. Then it was a hot water bath, heated this time until again I passed out. This all went on for several days until the last thing I remember was being out in the snow again. I have been cold before and you have too, but this was different, the pain from the cold was horrendous, I tried to cope with it but my pain threshold was very low. I had been shot and beaten previous to this. I remember a blizzard starting and it got colder, I tried to fight it as I knew that if I passed out this time, I might not survive it. But I did. The next thing I remember was coming round and I was warm and I could hear voices. Not talking normally like I am to, but distant, faint voices. I seemed to be in a tunnel, I could see the light at the end but I couldn't reach it"  
  
Jonathan put a hand on his shoulder while he continued.  
  
"This seemed to go on for a long time, different voices, they seemed familiar but so distant. Then one night, I heard a voice that seemed to be getting louder, the light seemed to be getting closer. I realized it was Alex. He was getting annoyed at me as I recall. I heard him telling me that he loved me as a father and a brother and that he couldn't take much more of all this. It was tearing him apart. The more he got annoyed, the closer I got to this light. Then he said something that brought me back to reality with a bang."  
  
"What did he say Ardeth?"  
  
"He told me that if I didn't snap out of it soon, that he was going to Ahm Shere and finding that Black Book, raising Imhotep and talking him into coming there and sorting me out. He jumped a mile when I said to him 'don't even think about it" he was going to run and get someone but I told him not to. It was about a week, I found out later, that Rick and Evy had gone back to Cairo, four weeks since I had been found. Apart from Masala, he was the only one there. We sat up for a long time talking, well me talking him listening. Then I broke down, I just couldn't stop crying. He did no more than come and sit on my bed, pull me into his arms and hold me while I cried. He didn't say anything, just held me for hours, like a child. That was how I woke in the morning"  
  
"So why have you not said anything since, Abdul said they were all worried sick about you"  
  
"I know, I don't know why I kept it up for so long. At first it was because I didn't want them to know, I couldn't face the questions about what had happened to me. I told Alex but I didn't want to talk about it again. You are the first person since I spoke to him. The longer it went on, the harder or easier it became. I got better in myself, I read, I rode out into the desert just to get away from the talking. I was a coward, I didn't want to face reality"  
  
"So why now, what is so different?"  
  
"You, the thought that you could be out here hurt and at the end of the day, you wouldn't be if I wasn't at that oasis. I would be in Cairo or at the main camp and you wouldn't have been out in the storm in the first place. I am already responsible for one mans death, I didn't want the same thing to happen to you"  
  
Jonathan got up and went and got a bottle of whisky that he had in his bag and took it back to where Ardeth was sitting. He opened it and taking a swig passed it over to the other man. He took it and knocked a large amount back.  
  
"I am always in trouble Ardeth, I would have done something to warrant you lot getting me out of it before long. You can't blame yourself for what happened to Karl, he knew the risks when he went back to Germany. I blame Rick for making you go and all this happening to you"  
  
"No, it is my duty to help people even at the risk of my own life. The thing I regret is not saying goodbye to Father Shandor and the others. I will write to them and explain, I am sure they will forgive me. That is more than Rick and Evy will do"  
  
"Do they have to know. About you being fine for the last three months. I won't say anything and I doubt Alex will, he hasn't so far."  
  
"You mean, tell them that because of what happened to you, that snapped me out of it. Would it work, I feel so guilty already"  
  
"Ardeth listen to me, you have been through and survived something that would have killed anyone else. I would have been dead weeks ago. That is all that matters, you are safe. The scars will take time to heal but you have your family around you, your people, we all love you. What you tell them is up to you, they do not need any explanation except the fact that you are home with us"  
  
"You are a good friend. You are right, I don't ever have to talk about what happened unless I want to. I have had three months to come to terms with it, sort of. What did you mean my family, I have no-one apart from the Med- jai"  
  
"You have us, we are your family now, you are part of that family and we are proud of you"  
  
They walked down the crater and Ardeth mounted his horse and Jonathan got up behind him and they rode back to the oasis. Masala and Abdul hurried to meet them.  
  
"Jonathan, Ardeth are you alright. Come on Ardeth you should rest"  
  
"No need Masala, I am fine. I have been for several weeks" he said looking at Jonathan.  
  
"What, but why?"  
  
"Alex, come here. Only we know this okay. I don't want Rick and Evy to know until I decide to tell them. I have been proud of what you have done Masala. So much so that I am giving you the command of your own tribe, if you want it"  
  
"My friend, thank you"  
  
"Right, let's all go back to Cairo" said Ardeth "I think Rick and Evy need a surprise"  
  
They all hugged each other and before long, had left for Cairo. 


End file.
